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Swim trials top 10 (er, 12)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Following the tremendous response to our 10 (well, OK, 12) top highlights, lowlights and sidelights of the U.S. track and field trials last month, we present, with two races still to be swum on Wednesday, our top 10 (well, OK, 12) list from the Olympic swimming trials: Tom Dolan punching the water: Dolan is six years removed from his still-standing world record in the 400 individual medley, but he has rarely been as emotional as he was after gutting out victories in the 200 IM and 400 IM at the IUPUI Natatorium this week. Gary Hall Jr. punching the air: Clad in his hooded boxing robe and shorts as he readied for the start of the 50 and 100 freestyles, Hall was at his showman's best. Win or lose, Hall is supremely confident in his ability to lick every obstacle from diabetes to Alexander Popov. Oh, and Tom Jager's 10-year-old American record (21.81) in the 50 that Hall has been chasing forever? Got it. Now we're talking 21.76. The hug: Actually there were two of them between Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres after they went 1-2 in both the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle. The side-by-side training, weightlifting and posturing every day at Stanford only intensified the rivalry between these two longtime buddies to the point that their coach, Richard Quick, had to train them separately. The thing is they really do want to be friends but are just too driven by their goals to avoid stepping on each other's toes. So for now it's advantage Thompson as the rivalry took a breather for about as long as it takes to hug an old pal. The man's all heart: Chad Carvin's heart was pumping at full capacity this week, enough to get him a spot in the 400 free and the 4x200 free relay. In 1995 Carvin had emerged as a strong candidate to make the '96 team before being so overcome with fatigue that he became depressed and attempted suicide. In December '95 he was finally diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a condition that prevented his heart from pumping at even half capacity. Fully recovered, Carvin made his first Olympic team in Indy. After the 400 free his tearful mother, Julia, said of the suicide attempt: "It was the only thing he's ever tried in his life and failed, so maybe he didn't try very hard." Kaitlin Sandeno's calendar: Sorry, all full. Let's see, for the next six weeks we have swimming, eating, training, swimming, sleeping and swimming. By making the squad in three different strokes at three different distances (200 fly, 400 IM, 800 free), Sandeno, 17, established herself as a star of the future for the U.S. women's team. Amy Van Dyken's last stand: Stand was the operative word Monday night because it took Van Dyken several minutes to do just that once she got out of the pool after placing fourth in the 100 free. Van Dyken's masseur had to rub both her legs with ice packs and ease her up from a seat on a starting block. The race left Van Dyken, 27, alternately beaming and grimacing from ear to ear. Turn up your nose all you want about the honor of making your Olympic team. This was a been-there, done-that, four-time Olympic gold medalist reveling in the agony and ecstasy of grabbing the fourth spot on a relay team. The 200 breaststroke and the element of uncertainty: Both Megan Quann and Ed Moses were Indy favorites and Sydney medal hopefuls in this event, especially after winning their respective 100 breasts so easily. But the Olympic trials aren't about form charts; they're sometimes about upsets. Oh, and the women's 100 breast leads us to ... 1/100th of a second: It's the smallest possible unit of measurement in swimming and it was the decisive margin of Olympic spots in three races. Kristy Kowal, the defending world champion in the 100 breast, finished a single tick behind Staciana Stitts in the race for the second spot on Friday. Three nights later, Kowal returned to break the American record in the 200. Kim Black finished sixth, .01 ahead of Sarah Tolar, in the women's 200 free. Nate Dusing finished sixth, .01 ahead of Ugur Taner, in the men's 200 free. Since the U.S. can take six swimmers for each relay event (including two additions for the morning heats), there is no such thing as a lucky seven in trial races. Crazy for Krayzelburg: Through he didn't break either of his own world records, Lenny Krayzelburg remained the most solid American threat to win double gold in individual events in Sydney by capturing both men's backstroke events in Indianapolis. The perfectionist called his victories in both races "very flawed." Fifteen candles: So the veterans struck a blow for tenure, but on Tuesday, Ian Cocker, 17, became the eighth teenager to make the U.S. men's team when he won the 100 fly. The youngest member of the squad, Michael Phelps of North Baltimore, turned 15 on June 30. Phelps became the youngest male swimmer on a U.S. Olympic team since Ralph Flanagan in 1932. Befitting his years, Phelps is a frequent mall visitor and video-game devotee. So this experience thing isn't, like, totally for everyone. Swimming powerhouse Columbia University: No, not exactly. But Cristina Teuscher struck hearty blows for herself and the Ivy League when she won the 200 IM Saturday night. Truth to tell, there were cynics who saw Teuscher's choice of the New York City university over traditional swim powers as a way to dodge the pressures of her own talents. In fact, Teuscher, a modest, unspoiled student-athlete, became the best collegiate swimmer in the country and, in Indianapolis, a repeat Olympian. The overflow crowd in Lane 3: Four swimmers, all 2000 Olympians, congregated there for a mini-celebration of Amanda Beard's return to the swimming elite. Beard, who had three subpar years after winning three medals in Atlanta, placed second to Kowal in the 200 breast Monday night. As Beard, a popular figure among teammates, floated with her face in her hands, Kowal, Stitts and Quann each swam over to congratulate her.
Brian Cazeneuve is a Sports Illustrated writer-reporter who covers the Olympics and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Sydney 2000 Mailbag.
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