The Leaving London Series: The Future

Over the last two weeks we have looked at what has come from the London Olympic Games.  The one time every four years where swimming enters the general public discussion and for 8 days swimming is just as popular as NFL Football, Champions League Soccer, NBA Basketball, and maybe Justin Beiber.

The world watched Ryan Lochte win the 400IM, Dana Vollmer zoom to a WR in the 100FL, Ruta Meilutyte thrill the British crowd in the 100BR, Ye Shiwen was NOW, Chad le Clos down Michael Phelps at the final touch, Rebecca Soni crack 2:20, Missy Franklin realize her potential, Ranomi Kromowidjojo sprint to glory, the French men's relay earn redemption and avenge 2008, Michael Phelps re-find his swagger, Flourent Manaudou unseat the master Cielo, and Sun Yang almost kill his chance at glory in the 1500FR only to then go on to thrill the world in the 1500.

... that's all well and good... what's next?

We start the the Cruise to Carnival.

Who/what are the future?

On the women's side...

Kromowidjojo is young enough to have another go in 4 years but Franklin looks primed to challenge her in the 100FR while the US will try to see emerging sprinting start Lia Neal come to the fore in 2016.

Into the upper distance freestyle, whether it's 800 or 1500 it won't really matter because Katie Ledecky is going to be a force in the either and probably the 400 too.

Franklin is poised to continue to own the backstrokes while the breaststrokes will be wide open, despite the youth of Meilutyte it's just too difficult to forecast the future success of teenage breaststroke swimmers.  Butterfly will also be wide open come 2016 but the same can not be said for the IMs where Ye Shiwen is poised to be elite for a long time to come.

On the men's side...

Too tough to forecast that Flourent Manaudou is more then just a flash in the pan in the 50 while the hopes of Brazil will likely ride on the fast twitch muscles of Bruno Fratus.

Nathan Adrian is young enough to remain a force in the 100FR and James Magnussen should continue to go along right with him

When it comes to the freestyles 200 and up...  it's going to take a Herculean development to keep up with Chinese star Sun Yang.

Men's backstroke could be well up for grabs, Ryan Lochte will likely focus on backstroke over the next 4 years, especially the 100.  Tyler Clary at 23 and Ryosuke Irie at 22 should still be on the scene come Rio.

Men's breaststroke is WIDE OPEN.  Kitajima is done, as too is Hansen, while Gyurta and van der Burgh will be fours years older and far from locks come Rio.

Men's butterfly looks to be in good hands with the emergence of Chad le Clos as the Phelps slayer.  Le Clos is primed to be a big-time player in Rio, maybe the biggest of all players come Rio.

In the men's IMs, there is set to be new blood because Phelps will likely not be in the building, and Lochte can not be expected to at age 31 or 32 to be at the top of his game either.  That leaves le Clos, Clary, Kosuke Hagino, Thomas Fraser-Holmes as the top returning big hitters come Rio.

This is all well and good... but who are the stars??

Missy Franklin (USA)... can't miss unless her transition to a new coach at a University program does not go well.  Look for her to pursue 6, 7, or 8 Gold Medals in Rio and really dominate the discourse.

Ye Shiwen (CHN)...  I just don't see her stopping her dominance, at her age and how far ahead of the world she is right now, I see Ye as a force come Rio and hopefully in another event beyond the IMs.

Katie Ledecky (USA)... at just 15 years old and going 8:14.63 is beyond ridiculous.  Like Franklin, if Ledecky chooses to go the NCAA route she is going to have to adapt to a new coach and that is always a tricky proposition but from all accounts on Twitter this girl trains like a Superhero and should be good for some time to come.

Becca Mann (USA)...  Mann was not on the 2012 Olympic team but she was all over the place at US Trials at just age 14.  She's capable of swimming up and challenging the elite of elite in the 400FR, 800FR, 400IM, and probably more come 2016.  She's going to be really emerging over the next 4 years and it's going to be fun to watch.

James Magnussen (AUS)... He missed Gold by .01 in the 100FR in London, he's going to be 25 come the Olympics in Rio and he's going to be good in the 50 & 100.

Sun Yang (CHN)... I like him to sweep gold in the 200, 400, and 1500 in Rio.

Tyler Clary (USA)... covered yesterday

Chad le Clos (RSA)... covered yesterday

And if the meet in Rio is bolstered by a couple of returning big names that might be beyond their prime, there should be no shortage of star power in Rio.

UP LAST... The closing post in the Leaving London Series, gives the final words to the biggest star in swimming history, Michael Phelps.