Head-to-Head Match-ups

  Phelps vs. Hackett   400 m Freestyle

The men’s 400m freestyle has the potential to be one of the most exciting races at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. Six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps has added the 400 to his repertoire and will be swimming the event in July at the 2005 World Championships in Montreal. If he should swim the 400 at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, he’ll likely be facing Grant Hackett, the second-fastest swimmer of all time in that event. Phelps might be the underdog, but he certainly will not make victory easy for Hackett.




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Michael Phelps

11th fastest performer of all-time.
3rd fastest American of all-time (behind Klete Keller and Larsen Jensen).
Best time: 3:46.73 (2003 Nationals, former American Record time).
National titles: 2 National titles.
International medals: None

Weakness:
Inexperience racing the 400.

Strengths:
Arguably the best swimmer in the world… Definitely one of the most versatile swimmers in history… Has just begun to explore the potential of his freestyle… Has the speed to race the 100 and 200 successfully… Big-time racer who is not afraid to race the best in the world or swim events that are not his best… Flourishes in the spotlight of major international competition… Has improved his turns and takes advantage of dolphin kicking off his turns better than any other male swimmer… Has the potential to make a big improvement in the 400 at World Championships.

 Grant Hackett

2nd fastest performer of all-time (behind Ian Thorpe).
10th fastest performance of all-time.
Best time: 3:42.51 (2001 World Championships).
Gold: 97 Pan Pacs,
Silver: 01 Worlds, 02 Pan Pacs, 03 Worlds, 04 Olympics, 98 Worlds, 02 Commonwealth Games, 98 Commonwealth Games.

Weakness:
Hackett’s walls are not as strong as Phelps’.

Strengths:
One of the greatest distance swimmers of all time… Has a tremendous amount of experience racing the 400 in international competition… The best 400 freestyler in history behind Ian Thorpe… A big-time racer who embraces great competition… Is able to take a race out fast and bury the competition from the start… With his great endurance background, he can maintain the speed he starts with… Australia’s team captain… Will step up to the challenge for his country.

Race Outlook: This race has the potential to be the most exciting match-up at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool with the best and most popular male swimmer of each team going head-to-head. Given Hackett’s long and successful history in the 400, Phelps will be the clear underdog. However, there’s no telling what Phelps can do in this event since it’s a relatively new addition to his repertoire, and he has worked very hard on his freestyle in recent years. Phelps has never shied away from the challenge of racing the best in the world, and with the home crowd behind him, he will certainly not make a victory easy for Hackett. Phelps and Hackett will likely take the race out together, but it will remain to be seen whether Phelps will be able to stay with Hackett after the halfway point. When Hackett swam his best time in 2001, he took the race out in 1:50.80 and brought it back in 1:51.71, a testament to the distance king’s combination of speed and endurance. When Phelps swam his best time in 2003, he took the race out in a similar time of 1:51.04, but brought it back in a much slower time of 1:55.69. That’s almost a four second difference in just the last 200. Granted, when Phelps swam his best time, he was not challenged over the last 200 and was coming right off of the 2003 World Championships, but Phelps will need a major improvement to stay with Hackett. Phelps will undoubtedly use the walls to his advantage as Hackett tries to swim away from him in each length. Phelps does not have any history of fading in the back-half of his races, so expect to see him rise to the challenge and make it a great race.