Suffering his first disappointment at the world championships in Rome, Nathan Adrian narrowly misses qualifying for the finals of the 100 free on Wednesday.
Nathan was strong in the first 50, with a split of 22.66, but slowed down in the final stretch to finish in 48.13, slower than his qualifying time from the world trials in Indianapolis to place him 10th. Top 8 go to finals. Alain Bernard of France is the top qualifier in 47.27.
I don’t know if Nathan and his coaches were expecting the finals time to be a sub-48, or for Bernard to nearly break the world record, 47.05. He is always so good at calculating where he needs to be. Honestly, however, one has to think that you go fast in the semis because the finals are the following night. You’d have time to recover.
I’m a little stunned to be honest.
Nathan will have another shot at an individual event in the 50 free, which begins Friday. Plus, he should be named to Saturday’s 400 medley relay as well.
