AFP, Omaha :
Michael Phelps will bring down the curtain on his stellar Olympic career in Rio, heading a US swimming team packed with newcomers eager to stamp themselves the future of the sport.
Phelps and his gang of ageing warriors that includes Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin have one thing in common with the 30 first timers: They all must swim faster than they did at the eight-day US trials if they want to dominate in the competition pool as they have in Games past.
US men’s head coach Bob Bowman, who has guided Phelps throughout a career that spans four prior Olympics that yielded 22 medals, 18 of them gold, believes they can.
“One of the things that we have always done well, better than anyone else, is improve from the trials to the Games,” Bowman said. “And I’m confident we’re going to do that again.
“And quite frankly we’re going to have to do that if we want to have the kind of Olympics that we are expected to have and want to have.”
The United States topped the swimming medals table in London 31 total, 16 gold.
While the trials that concluded on Sunday produced a string of tight races and the compelling drama that comes of knowing only the top two in each event will book Olympic berths, the times were not especially fast.
No world records were broken and just one American record was set by Josh Prenot in the 200m breaststroke.
Michael Phelps will bring down the curtain on his stellar Olympic career in Rio, heading a US swimming team packed with newcomers eager to stamp themselves the future of the sport.
Phelps and his gang of ageing warriors that includes Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin have one thing in common with the 30 first timers: They all must swim faster than they did at the eight-day US trials if they want to dominate in the competition pool as they have in Games past.
US men’s head coach Bob Bowman, who has guided Phelps throughout a career that spans four prior Olympics that yielded 22 medals, 18 of them gold, believes they can.
“One of the things that we have always done well, better than anyone else, is improve from the trials to the Games,” Bowman said. “And I’m confident we’re going to do that again.
“And quite frankly we’re going to have to do that if we want to have the kind of Olympics that we are expected to have and want to have.”
The United States topped the swimming medals table in London 31 total, 16 gold.
While the trials that concluded on Sunday produced a string of tight races and the compelling drama that comes of knowing only the top two in each event will book Olympic berths, the times were not especially fast.
No world records were broken and just one American record was set by Josh Prenot in the 200m breaststroke.
