Big night (morning) ahead for Crocker, Beisel

Posted by Ted McEnroe August 15, 2008 at 10:12 am

Well, if New Englanders are going to get any medals in swimming, they’ll get them tonight, right at the beginning of the evening (well, Saturday morning in Beijing) session at the Cube. 15-year-old Elizabeth Beisel of Saunderstown, R.I. will try to continue her meteoric rise with a medal-worthy performance in the 200 backstroke, and five minutes later, Ian Crocker of Portland, Maine will try to derail the Michael Phelps Express in the men’s 100 butterfly.

How do they stack up? Beisel swam the second-fastest time in the semifinals, trailing only Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry (who won the semifinal that Beisel was not in). That said, Coventry has put together an amazing Olympics so far - and will be tough to beat. Beisel could make the medal stand, and will be in the hunt. But Coventry might be too much for her to have a real shot at gold. But Beisel is 15 - and has a bright future ahead.

As for Crocker, he’s at the other end of his illustrious career, but he faces the same kind of challenge, with a guy by the name of Michael Phelps swimming near him. Crocker looked better in his semifinal than he did in his preliminary (where he placed 13th and nearly missed the semis entirely), but he hasn’t looked like the Ian Crocker of 2004. If his slower times are because he’s been shaking off the rust, he could contend, but to win, he’ll have to break his own world record - and he may not be able to do that.

You have to like Phelps to pick up win number seven. And if Crocker wins, expect him to return Phelps’ Athens favor and give him a spot in the 4×100 medley relay.

Elsewhere: Revenge of Bruno?

Brown University gets some chances for its athletes to bounce back this weekend. In addition to gymnast Alicia Sacramone’s chance for an individual gold in the vault (to erase her bad memories from the team competition), runner Anna Willard has qualified for the final in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Willard graduated from Brown in 2006.