Phelps finishes US meet, sends message for Rio

SAN ANTONIO -- Olympic swim legend Michael Phelps completed an epic effort at the US national championships Monday, having served notice he has the speed and skill to star at the 2016 Olympics.

Phelps only finished fifth in Monday's 200-meter breaststroke final in 2mins 11.30 secs, well off winner Craig Benson's winning time of 2:09.68.

Michael Phelps swims in the men's 200-meter breaststroke final during the Phillips 66 National Championships at Northside Swim Center. Photo by Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters.

But Phelps seldom swims the event and was entered more as a challenge and training exercise rather than with a victory in mind, having won three events in the prior three days and beaten the winning time at the world championships in Russia in each.

"I'm in a great place, a place where I haven't been in a long time, a place where I have confidence," Phelps said. "I've seen the work I've been doing, and done, has worked.

"I'm going into an Olympic year having something to build on and that hasn't happened in a while, probably since 2007. I'm excited to get back into it."

Phelps was supposed to be competing at the worlds but a drink driving incident led to him being dropped from the US team, instead having to be content with vying for national titles as the US meet being staged at the same time as the worlds.

Phelps met his self-imposed goal in the 200 breaststroke by breaking his former North Baltimore Aquatic Club record of 2:12.1.

"That's what I wanted to beat," Phelps said. "I'll take a 2:11.3 any day of the week. I was just spinning coming in. I had no legs."

Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, still showed he can be a threat in certain events next year at the Rio De Janeiro Games.

The 18-time Olympic champion won the 200 individual medley on Sunday in 1:54.75, faster than the 1:55.81 compatriot Ryan Lochte produced in winning the world title in Russia. He earlier won the 100 and 200 butterfly in times that would have beaten the world championship top times as well.

Phelps said he would rather have rested and not swum Monday, but noted it will probably help bolster his confidence about his ability to work in Olympic relays and multiple swims within a few hours in tough situations.

"I kind of wanted to just relax to be honest," Phelps said. "It's kind of good as far as to swim events like this back to back, to see if I can get up and race.

"It's probably good I was able to race these together and see I could race it."

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Chelsea must act to address worrying lack of alternatives

Chelsea must act to address worrying lack of alternatives

After the has dust settled on Chelsea's high-octane season opener against Swansea City, manager Jose Mourinho will know that there are some issues that need to be addressed. Although the Portuguese might have claimed that he was happy with his team's performance, the truth is that it was a disjointed affair in which the Blues could well have become the first reigning Premier League champions to lose their first game of the season.

The defensive issues plaguing Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were on display versus Swansea.

Much has been made of the Thibaut Courtois red card and the decision not to award a penalty for a possible trip on Diego Costa in the first half, though the fact remains that both were borderline decisions that could have gone either way. Had the shoe been on the other foot, it is quite possible that the Chelsea manager would have been praising referee Michael Oliver rather than condemning him with an ominous silence.

Mourinho will know that his team are not currently up to speed, at least not in the manner in which they started last season when they came flying out of the blocks. While not ideal, the situation is not parlous. With games the fluidity will once again appear and the sloppy play that punctuated Saturday's 2-2 draw should become as rare a sight as it was on the way to winning the 2014-15 title.

But this problem does not solely afflict the midfield. Chelsea's defence were brilliant in the second half of last season but looked miles away from that standard against Swansea. Part of that was down to individual errors, such as Willian accidentally playing Bafetimbi Gomis onside in the buildup to the game-changing penalty, but those are aberrations that can be ironed out.

More troubling was how Jefferson Montero gave Branislav Ivanovic the run around all afternoon. It was clear that the Serb had no answer to the Ecuadorean's pace and trickery, yet with nobody on the bench fleet-footed enough to combat the threat, Mourinho had little choice than to persist with the status quo. Perhaps he could have made Ivanovic swap flanks with Cesar Azpilicueta, though Swansea manager Garry Monk might well have simply responded by re-posting Montero on the opposite side.

ESPN FC's Stevie Nicol notes that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho deflected the result of Chelsea's 2-2 draw to Swansea by blaming the physio staff for coming onto the pitch too early to treat Eden Hazard.

Like Fabregas, Ivanovic is unlikely to be on the end of such a chastening experience too often, and having been such a crucial part of an excellent defence for so many years, it is hardly the time to jettison him from the team based on one disappointing display. Yet Chelsea's sparse amount of full-backs means that any elongated loss of form could have dire consequences.

Unlike the Fabregas situation, it does look like this issue might well be resolved sooner rather than later. The Blues are chasing Augsburg left back Baba Rahman which would allow Azpilicueta to offer cover on both sides. The pursuit of Everton's John Stones, a centre back that can play at right back, is also ongoing. Should both targets be secured before the transfer window shuts at the end of August, Chelsea's defence should have the strength in depth that is currently missing.

With the jury out on both Juan Cuadrado and Victor Moses, another attacking midfield player of genuine quality would also be a sensible addition to relieve the burden on Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard. Given the perceived financial might of the Premier League, that would require a sizeable outlay and does not seem to be on the club's radar at present. That department actually fared pretty well on Saturday so there is less desperation in that sense. A couple of injuries would make the cupboard look pretty bare, however, and could easily scupper the club's title defence. The transfer window is open for another three weeks; Chelsea need to make a splash.

Phil is one of ESPN's Chelsea bloggers and author of Chelsea-centric blog ShoutyandSpitty.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PhilLythell.

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