Michael Phelps will compete in his fourth swim meet since coming out of a twenty-month retirement in April. According to psych sheets released for the Georgia Bulldog Slam, to be held July 10th-13th in Athens, Ga., Phelps will race the 100 fly, 100 backstroke and 100 free.
This smaller swim meet will be most swimmers’ final stop before August’s U.S. Championships, a selection meet for the U.S.A. National Team and the Pan Pac Championships in Australia.
Ryan Lochte has entered seven events for his first meet since scratching out of the final day of the Mesa Grand Prix. He was still recovering from a torn MCL and ACL, suffered in a fan run-in last November, at that meet; his performances next week should indicate if his knee is back to full health.
Two of Lochte’s entered events, the 100 free and 100 fly, overlap with Phelps’ schedule.
Phelps and Lochte last face-off was the 100 fly in Mesa, where Phelps came in second to Lochte by two-tenths of a second.
The 100 free will also be one of the weekend’s biggest races, with fellow Olympians Conor Dwyer, Cullen Jones and France’s Yannick Agnel also entered.
Lochte’s full program is the 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly and 200 IM. It’s likely he’ll withdraw from several of these events closer to the meet.
