Michael Phelps ready to face Ryan Lochte at Charlotte swim meet
14-time Olympic gold medallist, Michael Phelps, is ready to take on his strongest rival, Ryan Lochte at the sixth stop of the 2010-2011 USA Grand Prix Series in Charlotte during May 2011.
The Charlotte Grand Prix Swim is the second last stop of USA Grand Prix and will take place from May 12 to 15, 2011 at Mecklenburg County Aquatic Centre. The sixth stop of Grand Prix is considered of great importance, as it precedes the upcoming 2011 World
Championships in Shanghai this July and numerous world-renowned swimmers will take part in the Charlotte UltraSwim to warm up their muscles.
The 25-year old Phelps has already faced his competitor at the previous two stops of USA Grand Prix in Austin, Indianapolis and Michigan during the months of January, March and April respectively.
His results at previous Grand Prix stops were unexpected, as Phelps lost his events after a disappointing swim at the Austin stop. The 25-year old American swimmer then proved his eligibility for five crowns at the Indianapolis, where he conquered the gold
medals in the events of 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m Individual Medley (IM), 400m IM and the 200m freestyle.
At the Michigan stop, Phelps demonstrated some great swims in the events of 200m, freestyle, 100m back-stroke, 200m IM and the 400m IM, grabbing gold medals in all of them.
Nevertheless, the Olympic champion failed to defend his title of the 200m butterfly at the Michigan stop and he finished fourth in his main event. This was the first time in nine years that Phelps lost the 200m butterfly event and he was very disappointed
with his efforts.
The American champion admitted that after 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was unable to put all his efforts into his training program and was involved in other activities. Nevertheless, the American claims to have learned his lesson from his defeat and expresses
that he is ready to face world famous swimmers in his events.
Phelps’s performance at the Grand Prix will depict his energy level for the 2011 World Championships. Apart from Phelps and Lochte, some other gold medallists are also taking part in the swimming competition. The swimmers include Rebecca Soni, Peter Vanderkaay,
Matt Grevers, Dana Vollmer, Kara Lynn Joyce, Mark Gangloff and, Cullen Jones.
In addition, more than 40 members of the national USA Swimming Team will compete at Charlotte swim meet. Swimmers conquering the top podium in their respective events will secure their spot in the American Swimming Team to compete at Shanghai Championships.
Furthermore, Phelps said that he is aiming to participate in seven events at these World Championships
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