Premium ContentClick on Premium Content on the Featured navigation bar for information.During the first night of the 2008 Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Tyler Clary touched the wall and was startled to see a 20-foot jet of flame shooting from the pool deck. "I thought, 'What the hell is going on?' '' the California native said. "It was incredible. It was insane.'' It was like no meet America's top swimmers had ever seen. Live pyrotechnics on deck. Star-spangled pageantry. And the biggest crowds ever to watch swimming on U.S. soil.

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Janet Evans' Olympic comeback bid at age 40 just got serious. She also got a reminder of how much work is left to get to the London Games this summer. In her first elite-level competition since coming out of retirement, the former gold medalist and world record holder qualified Friday for the Olympic Trials in the 400-meter freestyle at the Austin Grand Prix.

Despite the tremendous success she experienced while still in high school – winning gold at Pan Ams as a 16-year-old and just missing the Olympic team the summer before her senior year – Caitlin Leverenz needed a reality check. When she arrived at the University of California-Berkeley as a heralded recruit her freshman year, Leverenz received a figurative yet motivational kick from Bears coach Teri McKeever.

Maybe it's time to change things up at Duel in the Pool. Again, it was an American rout. Even though the European women posted the fasted short-course time ever in the 400-meter freestyle relay, that was one of the few highlights for the visiting team. The United States wrapped up the victory with nine events to go, more than doubling its opponent in a 181.5-80.5 triumph Saturday.

Chloe Sutton was still doing a mix of pool and open-water swims late in 2010 when she decided to concentrate on one and abandon the other. It took care of itself, actually. Open-water swimming means braving unpredictable waves and water temperatures, dodging the occasional marine creatures and dealing with the flying elbows and kicks of competitors unrestrained by any sort of lane markings.

Brendan Hansen and Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima are getting along just fine these days. Any bad blood from the last two Olympics isn’t a factor now, or so Hansen says. “There is no conversation because there’s a huge language barrier there,” Hansen said with a smile. “It’s a shame because I feel like we could be really good friends. Maybe I’ll get Rosetta Stone for Japanese, but for right now, it’s very much just a handshake and `good job’...

Michael Phelps and coach Bob Bowman were texting back and forth a couple of weeks ago about whether he would swim a timed 5,000, a grueling workout he hadn't done in a decade. Phelps had a blunt answer: "No." But then he asked, "Do I need to?" When Bowman assured him it was a valuable step in his training, Phelps responded, "I'll do it. Let's go."