One is North African, the other North American. They stood together on the Olympic podium after the 1,500m freestyle in 2008, did battle in Rome last year and in 2010 will face each other in peak form at the Pan Pacific Championships.
This week, Oussama Mellouli (TUN), Olympic champion based in California, and Ryan Cochrane (CAN), Olympic bronze medallist, provide an appetiser for the Pan Pacs in August when they face each other at the University of Southern California for the US Grand Prix in Los Angeles, running from today until Sunday. Cochrane, on 14:56.83, is the only man in the world this year to have broken 15mins so far.
By this time in 2008, 13 men had raced below 15mins and in 2009 the figure was 9. By the end of those seasons the numbers had swelled to 15 in 2008 and 13 in 2009, the most striking statistic in the midst of that picture the 10 men who raced inside 14:50 in 2008 alone. At the dawn of february 2008, only six men had ever raced inside 14:50.
Cochrane, making his final preparations for Canadian summer nationals in Victoria later this month, said through his federation: "It’s always a great honour to swim against Mellouli. I love the challenge of competition, and nothing drives me more than to race against the best swimmers in the world." Other Canadians at the meet in LA include world 100m free champion from 2007, Brent Hayden, while the US contingent features the likes of Natalie Coughlin, Jason Lezak and Rebecca Soni.
Coached at the Victoria Swim Academy by Randy Bennett, Cochrane has spent the past four years working his way through the world rankings over 30 laps. This year and next will be critical on his journey to London 2012 as a new order starts to settle on the distance pack in the post-Grant Hackett era. Hackett, after winning the 2000 and 2004 Olympic crowns, fell a hand shy in Beijing of becoming the first man ever to win a gold medal at three successive Olympics in the race pool, as Mellouli, coached by Dave Salo in California, roared through the world rankings.
Here's how the two men have made their way through world waters in recent years
Oussama Mellouli (1984 born)
- 2010: 15:19.64 so far
- 2009: 14:37.28 (non-textile)
- 2008: 14:40.84 (non-textile)
- 2007: absent from that race at a time of serving a doping suspension
- 2006: no world-ranked time
- 2005: 16:03.90
- 2004: 15:18.98
- 2003: 15:35.97
- 2002: 15:43.53
- 2001: 15:36.45
Ryan Cochrane (1988 born)
- 2010: 14:56.83 so far
- 2009: 14:41.38 (non-textile)
- 2008: 14:40.84 (non-textile)
- 2007: 14:59.02
- 2006: 15:13.44
- 2005: 15:25.35
- 2004: 16:12.29
- 2003: 16:33.88
