Men's 800 Free Relay

My prediction: Phelps, Lochte, Vanderkaay, & Cramer I'd like to see ... Phelps, Lochte, Vanderkaay & Walters ... Neither, the coaches decided to go with Keller. (http://tinyurl.com/2lqn6m)

And Keller split a 1:46 and they went a WR, so I guess that shows what I know ... PERHAPS it's showing confidence & faith in an athlete and he needed it! That was a big risk the coaches took and it paid off. Klete Keller even went faster than he did in Montreal (1:46.31 vs 1:46.33) and he had a 2.29 second drop from that prelim swim and they got the record by 1.42 and that record was considered untouchable for so long. The big surprise to me in the relay was Ryan Lochte. I always knew he was capable of going faster than 1:48.22 which he did at the Pan Pacs when the Relay went 7:05.28 and his 1::45.86 was great swim and he must have been really confident after that 200 Back. The second suprise on the relay was PVK. He went 1;45.71 which was a big improvement from the 1:46.52 at Pan Pacs. Phelps was a little slower but everytime he swims this he seems to have an event before and he didn't get much rest because of the 100 Fly semi finals. And then Klete Keller, who had enormous pressure to perform a swim he is capable of and had not done it in his 3 previous swims at this meet. I am so glad he did this and swam a split he is capable of. If he would have gone the 1:48.60 or high 1:47 and they missed the record, then all Hell would have broke lose with the press about Relay selections similar to what hapened in Athens in 2004 regarding the Men's 400 Free Relay and the Women's 800 Free Relay. Even though they broke the record, I believe this Relay did not swim to the potential it has and I am not taking away anything from the performance. If I add up all of the splits of best times of these swimmers from this relay the time is out of this stratosphere at 7:00.76 which is a little over 1:45 a man. Can this relay break 7:00.00 in 2008 at the Olympics. It makes the 7:04.66 not look as hollowed as it was. The best splits are as follows: Michael Phelps - 1:43.86, Ryan Lochte 1:45.86, PVK 1:45.71, and Klete Keller going 1:45.33 to hold off Ian Thorpe for the 7:00.76.

It was surprising to see Hackett wasn't even participating in the relay. Sure, he's off his best right now, but not even a top 4 200m free swimmer for Australia?? PVH did not swim this for Holland either and they did not make the finals when usually they are in the finals. Remember how well they did in the 400 Free Relay in Athens in 2004. He like Hackett is off his best right now, but to leave a 1:45 man off your relay seems not to make any sense at all unless he is not feeling well from that injury he had last year.

WR! America, f..k yeah :banana:

That was a big risk the coaches took and it paid off. Klete Keller even went faster than he did in Montreal (1:46.31 vs 1:46.33) and he had a 2.29 second drop from that prelim swim and they got the record by 1.42 and that record was considered untouchable for so long. The big surprise to me in the relay was Ryan Lochte. I always knew he was capable of going faster than 1:48.22 which he did at the Pan Pacs when the Relay went 7:05.28 and his 1::45.86 was great swim and he must have been really confident after that 200 Back. The second suprise on the relay was PVK. He went 1;45.71 which was a big improvement from the 1:46.52 at Pan Pacs. Phelps was a little slower but everytime he swims this he seems to have an event before and he didn't get much rest because of the 100 Fly semi finals. And then Klete Keller, who had enormous pressure to perform a swim he is capable of and had not done it in his 3 previous swims at this meet. I am so glad he did this and swam a split he is capable of. If he would have gone the 1:48.60 or high 1:47 and they missed the record, then all Hell would have broke lose with the press about Relay selections similar to what hapened in Athens in 2004 regarding the Men's 400 Free Relay and the Women's 800 Free Relay. Even though they broke the record, I believe this Relay did not swim to the potential it has and I am not taking away anything from the performance. If I add up all of the splits of best times of these swimmers from this relay the time is out of this stratosphere at 7:00.76 which is a little over 1:45 a man. Can this relay break 7:00.00 in 2008 at the Olympics. It makes the 7:04.66 not look as hollowed as it was. The best splits are as follows: Michael Phelps - 1:43.86, Ryan Lochte 1:45.86, PVK 1:45.71, and Klete Keller going 1:45.33 to hold off Ian Thorpe for the 7:00.76. I think they will go under 7:00, which is just nuts. I was floored when I saw those splits, the 200 free at trials is going to be a total dog fight to the finish ...

So Skip Thompson was correct again with his prediction of the Americans recapturing the WR in the 800 free relay after having lost it to the Aussies so many years ago. Way to go team USA!!! Newmastersswimmer

one more record taken from australia now we got 12 and they only have 3.

It was surprising to see Hackett wasn't even participating in the relay. Sure, he's off his best right now, but not even a top 4 200m free swimmer for Australia??

one more record taken from australia now we got 12 and they only have 3. Amazing.. VDK was already OUT OF THE POOL when Australia touched for second.

one more record taken from australia now we got 12 and they only have 3. Why is it important? Unless it was set by someone(s) using illegal preformance enhancing drugs, then it shouldn't matter. The fact that the relay set a record is awesome. The fact that they broke a really difficult record is awesome as well. We should be thankful that the Aussies had four guys to due that previous record. That set the bar higher for the rest of the world.