Hall feels good, but it’s not enough in the 50

OMAHA -- Garrett Weber-Gale, trying to take ownership of the title of sprint king from Gary Hall Jr., looked at Hall’s get-up before the 50-meter freestyle final here Saturday night at the Olympic trials.

The two-time defending Olympic champion wore a multicolored cape with red trim with the words, “The Godfather of Swimming.” It was Hall’s self-proclaimed tribute to the late James Brown.

“Honestly, the spotlight doesn’t really matter to me,” said the 22-year-old Weber-Gale of Longhorn (Texas) Aquatics, who earlier won the 100 freestyle. “Part of me thought, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’ I don’t think I can pull it off. Also I thought, maybe that guy’s a genius and he’s coming in here to psyche us out and set a record.

“But yeah, who the spotlight is on doesn’t matter to me.”

It took 21.47 seconds for the spotlight to rest on Weber-Gale, who won the 50, setting an American record. The previous mark (21.59) was held by Cullen Jones, who set the mark Friday in the prelims. Ben Wildman-Tobriner was second, Jones third and Hall Jr., fourth and Jason Lezak of Irvine fifth. Only the top two make the Olympic team.

The spotlight, you might say, has been most democratic here.

Four years ago, at the trials in Long Beach, it was all things Michael Phelps and his Spitz-ian quest. That hasn’t gone away or awry, of course, and Phelps is still on track to unseat legend Mark Spitz and his record seven Olympic gold medals.

Phelps won his fifth individual race at the trials in a largely anticlimactic contest against Ian Crocker in the 100 butterfly, 50.89 to Crocker’s 51.62. For Phelps, it was five for five in Omaha and, with three relays, the possibility of eight golds in Beijing not unrealistic.

“There are a few little things I can work on between now and the Olympics: being able to nail the finish and have better turns,” said Phelps, who has won 12 of 16 races against Crocker, including the last four.

“This week turned out how I wanted to. I’m excited. At the Olympics, I think I’m going to be better than I was here.”

Still, Phelps has not been hoarding the spotlight.

Hall is gone, perhaps for good. The ageless Dara Torres is back, for good, and faster than ever at 41, setting the American record in the semifinals of the 50 free, going 24.38. Then there was the requisite daily world record, this one coming from Margaret Hoelzer in the 200 backstroke (2:06.09). The previous mark, of 2:06.39, was set by Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe in February.

Torres showed her vaunted fire when Jessica Hardy of Long Beach lowered the American record in the first semifinal, going 24.48. “I’m very competitive and I saw her time,” Torres said. “I felt pretty good. I didn’t feel like I was hit by a freight train like I was this morning.”

And the kid whom Phelps treats like a little sister, Katie Hoff, has turned into a steely iron woman in the water, winning the 800 freestyle in 8:20.81, just off her personal best of 8:19.70. Hoff went five for six here, and with one relay, she could win six gold medals in Beijing. This was her 14th race at the trials and she said it was tough to get up for each one.

Said Phelps: “I don’t remember a woman trying that many events ever or it’s been a long time. Katie’s the person to do it.”

But the buzz was all about the changing of the guard in the 50.

As it often happens in that race, it comes down to reaction time off the blocks. Hall was the second-slowest of the field, 0.73, and Weber-Gale the fastest, 0.65. Wildman-Tobriner joked that the winner had corrected that problem, saying: “His coach [Eddie Reese] told me today, he starts like a grandma.”

Later, Phelps and Crocker were asked about Hall’s legacy. Hall leaves with 10 Olympic medals in 10 races. His father, Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Sr., was on hand in the stands at Qwest Center as was his grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., who pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud charges in 1999 in connection to the most notorious thrift failure in the 1980s.

Said Phelps of Hall Jr.: “He’s one of a kind. I’ve never seen a person like Gary.”

Said Crocker: “He’s like a character from a fictional novel.”

Of course, the last word, or words belong to Hall. He joked about going into pro wrestling, politics or both. Hall also made a point of thanking the assembled media in the mixed zone.

“This is my last race until I race again,” Hall said, smiling. “Look, Dara is 41. In 2016, I’ll be 41. I’ll probably still be taking time off. The seven-year extended break seemed to work for Dara.”

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Duels in the pool

Highlights from Day 7 of the U.S. Olympic swim trials at Omaha:

Finals: It’s down to two potentially compelling races on the last day of the trials.

The women’s 50-meter freestyle will feature American-record holder Dara Torres, 41, versus Jessica Hardy, 21. Hardy, of Long Beach, held the American record in the 50 for about two minutes after lowering it in the first semifinal. The 50 mark was lowered three times Saturday, the first by Lara Jackson of El Paso in the morning preliminaries and then Hardy and Torres at night.

As for the other race, it’ll be time to settle in for a good long while, watching Erik Vendt and Larsen Jensen spar in the men’s 1,500 freestyle. TiVo might be advisable.

Quotable: “I still don’t know what I’m doing. I have horrible technique,” Hardy said of her so-called struggles in the 50.

-- Lisa Dillman

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NEW WORLD RECORDS

Through Saturday

*--* Michael Phelps 400m IM 4:05.25 Michael Phelps 200m IM 1:54.80 Katie Hoff 400m IM 4:31.12 Hayley McGregory 100m Back 59.15 (a) Natalie Coughlin 100m Back 59.03 (a) Natalie Coughlin 100m Back 58.97 Aaron Peirsol 100m Back 52.89 Aaron Peirsol 200m Back 1:54.32 (b) Margaret Hoelzer 200m Back 2:06.09 *--*

(a-set in the preliminaries; b-tied the record)

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Source: USA Swimming