Lochte cruises home in 400 IM

LOS ANGELES — Olympic champion Ryan Lochte cruised to victory in the 400-meter individual medley Friday at the Arena Pro Swim Series. The 31-year-old American star never looked in danger as he surged home in 4min 16.92sec to delight the crowd at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, South Carolina. Lochte, the short course world record holder over the 400 medley, finished two seconds clear of Tomas Peribonio, with Michael Weiss coming home in third. This week’s meeting had suffered a blow after US swim star Michael Phelps withdrew from the competition following the birth of his son. Ledecky cruises to victory In Atlanta, Katie Ledecky began her final tuneup for the US Olympic trials with another impressive showing in the 200-meter freestyle. The 19-year-old touched in 1 minute, 54.82 seconds — more than three seconds ahead of future Stanford college teammate Simone Manuel. After an hour after winning the 200 free, Ledecky returned for the 400 individual medley. That was essentially just a training race, not an event that will be part of her Olympic repertoire. Still, she showed off an impressive finishing kick.