2012 Olympics: Swimming

More importantly, Lochte simply didn't earn the spot based on any 100 free he has done in the last year. To me this is the crux of the matter. Grevers earned a spot at night by swimming fast in the morning. Lochte swam a 58.91 in semis at Trials and then scratched finals. Five swimmers at Trials were faster: Adrian, Jones, Feigen, Berens and Lezak (a sixth, Scot Robison tied Lochte). Yes, we all knew Lochte would be faster than that, but how much? The great thing about swimming is the clock is the final arbiter. Ultimately the coaching staff has to decide who the fastest four swimmers are, but it sure makes it difficult when guys don't swim the event (or scratch finals) at Trials.

More importantly, Lochte simply didn't earn the spot based on any 100 free he has done in the last year. To me this is the crux of the matter. Grevers earned a spot at night by swimming fast in the morning. Lochte swam a 58.91 in semis at Trials and then scratched finals. Five swimmers at Trials were faster: Adrian, Jones, Feigen, Berens and Lezak (a sixth, Scot Robison tied Lochte). Yes, we all knew Lochte would be faster than that, but how much? The great thing about swimming is the clock is the final arbiter. Ultimately the coaching staff has to decide who the fastest four swimmers are, but it sure makes it difficult when guys don't swim the event (or scratch finals) at Trials.