Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps spearheaded a dominant US performance in the Pan Pacific Championships pool on Friday night as the host nation won eight of 10 events on the programme.
Only Park Tae-Hwan of South Korea and Brazil’s Felipe Silva could break the US stranglehold on gold, Park winning the 400m freestyle and Silva the 50m breaststroke.
Lochte won his fourth gold of the meeting with a victory in the 200m backstroke, while Phelps won his third in the 100m butterfly before they combined for one more each as part of the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Olympic champion Lochte led the backstroke from start to finish, winning in 1min 54.12 sec.
That saw him take over from Japan’s Ryosuke Irie as fastest in the world this year.
“I felt pretty in control. I tried to hold back on my first 50,” Lochte said.
American Tyler Clary was second in 1:54.90 and Irie settled for third in 1:55.21.
Phelps won the 100m butterfly in 50.86sec, not as fast as his time at the US championships here earlier this month but enough for a victory over compatriot Tyler McGill (51.85). Japan’s Takuro Fujii was third in 52.12.
“I guess I was off the blocks slow,” Phelps said. “The one thing I’m not happy with was the first 50.
“To be able to still be under 51 wasn’t terrible. If I want to be able to get back to the time I did last summer, I just need a good first 50 to build up my speed.”
Phelps helped make up for any niggling disappointment in that performance with his lead-off leg of the relay, in which he posted a Pan Pacific record for the 100m free of 48.13sec.
“The biggest thing was to get these guys in open water,” said Phelps, whose opening effort was built upon by Lochte, Jason Lezak and anchor Nathan Adrian for a victory in 3:11.74.
Australia were second in 3:14.30 and South Africa third in 3:15.93.
Park has some more immediate goals, including the Asian Games in China in November. He showed he is on course with a victory in the 400m free, making a strong move over the final 100m to break away from Canadian Ryan Cochrane to win in 3:44.73.
Cochrane, the 1,500m free winner here, was second in 3:46.78 and China’s Zhang Lin was third in 3:46.91.
Silva gave Brazil a second gold of the meeting, clocking 27.26 in the 50m breaststroke to edge American Mark Gangloff (27.52), with Aussie Scott Dickens third in 27.63 seconds. Otherwise, it was all America atop the podium.
Elizabeth Beisel won the women’s 200m backstroke in 2:07.83. She edged compatriot Elizabeth Pelton, who took silver in 2:08.10 with Australia’s Belinda Hocking third in 2:08.60.
Americans Dana Vollmer and Christine Magnuson went one-two in the women’s 100m fly, Vollmer winning in 57.56 to Magnuson’s 57.95.
Australian 14-year-old Yolane Kukla went out at a blistering pace but faded to finish fourth.
World record-holder Jessica Hardy of the United States, swimming her first major international championships since serving a drugs ban, won the 50m breaststroke in 30.03sec – outside her world mark but the third-fastest performance ever.
Australia’s Leiston Pickett was second in 30.75 and Leisel Jones was third in 30.78.
Chloe Sutton won the women’s 400m free, adding gold to the silver she won in the 800m free.
She held off the late challenge of Australia’s Katie Goldman, winning in 4:05.19 to Goldman’s 4:05.84. Australia’s Blair Evans was third in 4:06.36.