Swimming’s typical, mid-Olympic cycle doldrums will be wiped away this week as the greatest swimmer and several gold medalists descend on Orange County.
Yes, the Phelps Factor will be in play Wednesday with the kickoff of the Phillips 66 National Championships at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.
Phelps’ comeback after becoming the most decorated Olympic athlete in history has stirred heavy interest during a sometimes-sleepy time for Olympic sports. There are more cameras than usual on the pool deck and a nearly full-day of press conferences dueled with practice time Tuesday.
“There’s all sorts of attention,” Nathan Adrian, the reigning Olympic champion in the 100-meter freestyle, said Tuesday. “It’s great but … it’s a little distracting.”
But there’s more for Orange County’s well-educated swimming community to monitor than Phelps’ return from an almost two-year hiatus.
In a pool that produced Olympic gold medalist such Amanda Beard, Aaron Peirsol and Jason Lezak, a five-day meet will serve as qualifying for the Pan Pacific Championships in Australia, Aug. 21-25.
And the combination of times from this week and Pan Pacs will decide who races for Team USA at next year’s World Championships in Kazan, Russia. So, valuable racing experience is up for grabs, too.
“You’re not going to perform (your) best unless you’re racing the best,” Adrian said.
This week, the best swimmers in the U.S. are in Irvine.
