World Championships 2011, Predictions #2: MEN
50m free: Cielo, Bousquet, Nystrand
100m free: Magnussen, di Carli, Lobintsev
200m free: Agnel*, Park, Yang, Phelps
400m free: Park, Yang, Biedermann
800m free: Yang, Pizzetti, Mellouli
1500m free: Yang, Cochrane, Mellouli
50m fly: Huegill, Schoeman, Cavic
100m fly: Cavic, Starke, Phelps
200m fly: Phelps, Cseh, Matsuda
50m back: Tancock, Lacourt, Bal
100m back: Lacourt, Irie, Meeuw
200m back: Lochte, Goddard, Clary
50m bst: Van der Burgh, Silva, Rickard
100m bst: Kitajima, Rickard, Tatesishi
200m bst: Tomita, Kitajima, vom Lehn
200m IM: Lochte/Phelps, Goddard, Rogan
400m IM: Cseh, Lochte, Pereira
4x100m free relay: France, USA, Brazil
4x200m free relay: Russia, USA, Germany
4x100m medley relay: Japan, China, USA
Sprint free: #lolFrenchSprinters etc - poor old Alain Bernard didn’t qualify for the individual 100 so all his eggs are in the 50m basket. I doubt either him or Fred Bousquet can pip Cielo to the finish, but maybe perennial long-course bridesmaid Stefan ‘oh I never do any training ever’ Nystrand will catch the Bousquet this time (do you see, Bousquet sounds a bit like bouquet) (oh never mind). For the 100m I think Aussie youngster Magnussen will live up to his hype in Shanghai and quieten all the haters. Either way, it’s going to be a brilliant race.
Middle distance free: the 200m free will also be a corker - my money’s on young Yannick Agnel (*assuming he swims it at all - hence my putting four dudes in my prediction for that), but it’s wide open. Izotov is finally a force to be reckoned with, Biedermann and Phelps have old scores to settle and Park Tae Hwan would love another win to add to his likely victory in the 400m, though Sun Yang might have something to say about both. Robbie Renwick might well make the final for both 200 and 400, but he’s got his work cut out for a medal.
Distance free: Like everyone else I’m looking forward to the Shanghai Sun Yang show - will he break the 1500m free record? Does anyone care who comes second?
Butterfly: I would love it SO MUCH if Skippy won the sprint, I love him to bits and he totally deserves it. Cavic and Phelps will battle it out as usual for the 100 and Phelps should dominate the 200 ahead of the Japanese dudes Matsuda and Sakata. Antony James had a cracking swim at ASA Nationals last week though - another few tenths off and maybe he could squeak a medal in the 100?
Breaststroke: Japanese dudes miles ahead of everyone in the 100/200, as per usual (yawn); slightly more interest in the 50 as CvdB makes his annual emergence from his nest for one very fast length before going back inside.
Backstroke: Lochte may have been off the pace so far this season but you’d be an idiot to bet against him at a major championship. Likewise, Lacourt seems to have the 50 and 100 sewn up, though Tancock and Irie won’t give up without a fight. Much as I love Liam Tancock, I wouldn’t honestly mind if Lacourt won everything as that would mean many many pictures of him coming up on my rss reader *droools*
Medleys: The 200m IM will be interesting! Lochte v Phelps v … James Goddard? Who’d have thought it? I’m not complaining though, Goddard might just be able to keep up with Lochte and Phelps on backstroke, and hang on for a medal. Laslo Cseh has the experience and the form to retain his 400m title - Lochte will be shattered by the time that comes around on the day. But then again, he is Ryan Lochte and his definition of ‘shattered’ is different to normal humans.
Relays: I am going to make it my mission to get #lolFrenchSprinters TRENDING by the time the 4x100 final is underway. Bless ‘em - maybe this is their year? For the 4x200 the Americans have Phelps and Lochte, but the Russians have Isotov, Lobintsev and two other dudes in the top 30, and the Germans have 4 dudes under 1.48 this year. Medley wise, I think Japan could sneak it out from under everyone’s noses - Irie, Kitajima and Matsuda are all ranked #1 in the world, and France/US/Australia are lacking the breaststroke legs to compete. They won bronze in Beijing, Athens and Montreal 2005, silver in Melbourne 2007 (when the US were DQed in the heats). This could be the year that the American men win ZERO relay golds…
