Chloe Sutton Takes Home the $20,000 prize as the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Series Champion
LOS ANGELES – Jul 11, 2010 – Olympians Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.) and Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima each set meet records Sunday on the final night of the Los Angeles Grand Prix. Vollmer set the meet record in the women’s 100m butterfly with a time of 57.39, while Soni and Kitajima set the marks in the women’s and men’s 100m breast in 1:06.23 and 1:00.82, respectively.
The Los Angeles Grand Prix also marked the end of the 2009-2010 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. 2008 Olympian Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) took home the Series purse of $20,000 with her dominating performance throughout the eight-meet Series.
Vollmer’s time in the women’s 100m fly bested the former meet record of 58.40, which she set in 2007, by a full second. She also finished about a body length ahead of the rest of the field, with 2008 Olympic silver medalist Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.) taking second in 58.87 and U.S. National Teamer Lyndsay DePaul (Orange, Calif.) taking third in 59.13.
The showdown in the women’s 100m breast featured the top two swimmers in the history of the event – Soni and fellow U.S. National Teamer Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) – in the center lanes. Soni led by 25-hundredths at the first turn and built her margin on Hardy as she headed down the home stretch. In the end, Hardy finished nearly two seconds behind in 1:08.61, while National Teamer Kasey Carlson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) was third in 1:09.55.
Sunday’s win was the second of the meet for Soni after winning the 200m breast on Saturday.
“It’s always fun for me to be ahead at the 50, than (it is to) have to come back from behind like I usually do,” Soni said. “I was going for a 1:06. The 100 is a little easier for me to be consistent in. I’m really excited about how it will feel at Nationals after I taper a little bit.”
In the men’s 100m breast, Kitajima and Michael Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.) were neck-and-neck for the first 50, before Kitajima pulled ahead for the win. Alexandrov was second in 1:01.35, while Brazil’s Tales Cerdeira was third in 1:01.81. Kitajima’s win was also his second after winning the men’s 200m breast Saturday.
Other swimmers coming away with their second wins of the meet Sunday included Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.) in the men’s 800m free and Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) in the women’s 200m free.
Two-time Olympian Hoff led from start to finish in the women’s 200m free, touching in 1:57.58. Two of Hoff’s FAST teammates, National Teamer Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) and Olympian Kate Ziegler (Fairfax, Va.) touched second and third in 1:58.95 and 1:59.77. Hoff also won the 400m free Saturday.
“It’s kind of clicked for me at this meet, and I’m relieved and excited for everything to finally come together,” Hoff said. “It kind of gives me the boost I need heading into Nationals.”
Sunday marked the first time the women’s 1500m free and men’s 800m free have been contested at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. National Teamer Klueh won his second event of the meet in the men’s 800, turning in a time of 8:01.82. Jeremy Bagshaw was second in the 800 in 8:10.46 and Richard Charlesworth was third in 8:12.69. Klueh also won the men’s 200m free on Saturday.
Winning the women’s 1500 was National Youth Teamer Bonnie Brandon (Aurora, Colo.) in 16.45.76, followed by Susana Helms in 16:49.65 and Kelsey Cummings in 16:53.97.
In other races, Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.), the two-time defending Olympic champion in the women’s 100m back, had her hands full in that event Sunday, holding off up-and-coming National Teamer Rachel Bootsma (Eden Prairie, Minn.) at the finish by 39-hundredths of a second. Coughlin touched the wall in 1:00.52 for the win. Finishing third was Presley Bard (Napa, Calif.) in 1:01.03.
“That was the fastest I’ve been out all season,” Coughlin said. “I like it to be faster, and hopefully when I get a little rest in the next three weeks it will be at Nationals. My main goal for the next two-plus years is London. I’m just going to take my time and work my way toward London.”
The men’s 100m back was just as close, with National Teamer David Russell (Wellesley, Mass.) out-touching Olympic silver medalist Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.) 54.22 to 54.59. Brazil’s Guilherme Guido was third in 55.99.
Masayuki Kishida of Japan won the men’s 100m fly in 52.80, followed by Tom Shields in 53.67 and U.S National Teamer Bobby Bollier (Mission Hills, Kan.) in 54.10. Austrian Olympian Markus Rogan won the final individual event of the meet, taking the men’s 200m IM in 2:00.82 and missing the meet record by 23-hundredths. National Teamer Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) was second in 2:00.92, while Kitajima was third in 2:01.66.
For complete results from the Los Angeles Grand Prix, go to our special Grand Prix events page. For more coverage, including on-demand video, visit www.Swimnetwork.com.