Read The Australian
A strong final day in which Olympic gold medallists Nathan Adrian (50m freestyle), Lochte (200m individual medley) and Katie Ledecky (1500m freestyle) set world-leading times gave the US team some momentum but it does not look the force of last year.
It has swimmers ranked No 1 in six events. Missy Franklin is the standout in the 100m and 200m backstroke, but that is one short of Australia’s seven top spots.
Before the US trials began, Australians were setting the pace in nine events and the fact that they have held on to seven of those positions is very encouraging.
Cate Campbell (50m and 100m freestyle), Alicia Coutts (100m butterfly and 200m individual medley), Christian Sprenger and James Magnussen (100m freestyle) still hold the fastest times of the year.
That is not to suggest that the Australian team is ready to go toe-to-toe with the US for international supremacy this year but it is encouraging for a young Australian team looking for confidence and momentum to get this Olympiad rolling after the troubled London campaign.
