Ryan Lochte competes in the preliminary heats of the men's 400-meter IM during the 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte swim meet at Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center on May 13, 2016 in Charlotte, N.C.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ryan Lochte has been feeling a little tired lately, what with all the training he's putting in for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
A tired Lochte was still more than anyone could handle Friday night when the Olympic gold medalist dominated the 400-meter individual medley at the Arena Pro Swim Series Charlotte.
Lochte, who holds the world record in the event, led from start to finish in winning the final in 4 minutes, 16.92 seconds at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center. He beat Ecuador's Tomas Peribonio by two seconds.
"My legs are just tired -- I've been doing a lot of kicking the past two weeks," said Lochte, who lives and trains in Charlotte with SwimMAC Carolina coach David Marsh. "But this is not the big meet. I've still got six weeks to tune everything up and get ready for trials.
"I would like to be faster -- I always feel I can go faster -- but right now, where I'm at, I think that's all right."
Lochte's only real challenge came from Peribonio -- who had the fastest time in the preliminaries at 4:18.72 -- in the final leg of the individual medley, the freestyle.
A two-time All-American at South Carolina, Peribonio was third when he began the final 100 meters, but blew past Michael Weiss early and swam the final leg in 59.75 seconds, compared to Lochte's 1:00.74.
"I was kind of swimming alone for most of the race, but toward the end, I saw (Peribonio) coming," Lochte said. "But like I've said, this meet is just preparation for the Olympic Trials."
Other men's winners Friday were Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer in the 200 freestyle, Cody Miller in the 100 breaststroke, Bryce Bohman in the 50 backstroke, and Canada's Santo Condorelli in the 100 butterfly.
Like Lochte, Dwyer had an easy time in the 200 freestyle, winning the final in 1:46.68, 1.54 seconds ahead of Zane Grothe.
Miller won the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.66, edging Mexico's Miguel De Lara Ojeda by 0.33 seconds.
Bohman won the 50 backstroke in 25.60, beating Paul Le by 0.15 seconds, while Condorelli won the 100 butterfly in 52.53, beating Tim Phillips by 0.3 seconds.
Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Dana Vollmer easily won the women's 100-meter butterfly. She finished in 57.23 to beat 15-year-old Canadian Penny Oleksiak by 1.02 seconds.
"I actually felt really good until about 75 meters, but last week was one of the hardest weeks of training I've had," said Vollmer, 28, who also holds the world record in the event. "I didn't know how this meet would look coming in, so I'm happy that front-end speed is there."
Other women's winners were Leah Smith in the 200 freestyle, Lilly King in the 100 breaststroke, Ali Deloof in the 50 backstroke, and Cammile Adams in the 400 individual medley.
Smith, a two-time NCAA champion in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle, won the 200 freestyle in 1:57.26, 1.58 seconds ahead of 15-year-old Taylor Ruck.
King, who won the NCAA 100 and 200 breaststroke titles this year, won the 100 breaststroke at Charlotte in 1:05.73, the second-fastest time in the world this year. She beat Katie Meili by 0.81 seconds.
Deloof edged Kylie Masse by 0.08 seconds to win the 50 backstroke. She finished the final in 28.03.
Adams won the 400 individual medley in 4:38.97, beating China's Rose Bi by 7.58 seconds.
