Stanford Duo Reflects on American Records and Look Ahead to NCAAs

Feature by Kristen Heiss

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 16. AT the Pacific 10 Championships, two junior standouts from Stanford lit the pool on fire, breaking three American, NCAA Records, and conference Records.

Elaine Breeden and Julia Smit came into the 2008-09 collegiate season after having outstanding summers as both Breeden and Smit represented the US Olympic team in the 2008 Olympics. The duo has continued the momentum from Beijing this collegiate season. With the NCAA Championships just around the corner, the two Stanford swimmers are excited about what they have accomplished and what is to come.

Julia has had Summer Sanders' 17-year-old 400 IM record on her mind for three years now.

"Getting that record has been a goal of mine since I was a freshman. It's the team record as well, and I see it on the record board in our locker room everyday."

After swimming a time of 4:01.56 at the Pac 10 Championships, Julia will finally be able to see her own name on the record board for the 400 IM. She says that breaking Sanders' record is "a good stepping stone for achieving my goal at the end of the season: to go under 4 minutes."

In addition to the 400 IM record, Smit also broke the American and NCAA record in the 200 IM. Smit went into Pac 10's planning on using the meet to gauge where she was in her training, with the key focus being on the NCAA's ahead.

"I was pretty surprised about the times, probably more about the 200 IM. They were definitely the kind of races that didn't feel great, and it's hard to predict how you're doing from those."

Feeling good or not, the times Smit swam put her name in the collegiate and American record books, and Smit is confident and excited for the big showdown at Texas A&M next week.

"I think swimming fast at conference definitely raises your confidence going into the NCAAs. It's great to be going best times when maybe you don't feel as sharp, and knowing you still have a lot left in you for the end of the season."

While Smit was busy rewriting the IM records, her teammate, Elaine Breeden, was busy rewriting history in the butterfly.

Breeden was thinking along the same lines of Smit heading into Pac 10s, and was not expecting to break any records while at the conference meet.

"My 200 fly time was totally unexpected. I did not think much about expectations for Pac 10s ahead of time. I did not want to limit myself or put too much pressure on myself to perform a certain way. My goal was to relax, have fun, and see what I could do."

Breeden surpassed her previous lifetime best in the 200 fly by two seconds, finishing in a blazing time of 1:49.92.

"I heard people's reactions before I saw the board and when I finally looked at the time, it didn't really register. I still don't think it has sunken in. 1:49 is almost my freestyle time!"

To beat the American record that was set by Mary DeScenza one month prior, and was held by Natalie Coughlin prior to that is no small feat, especially when it is by 1.5 seconds. Breeden says that she has had her eye on the 200 fly American record for a while, and it has been fun chasing it. However, Breeden counters that records are made to be broken, including the new 200 fly standard.

"It is always exciting to break records, but I am constantly reminded of how temporary they are. Mary DeScenza broke this American record a month ago and for all I know, it could be broken again in a few weeks. It will be fun to see who will be the next to go under 1:50. I'm sure it won't be long!"

Like Smit, Breeden's main focus is the NCAAs, and she says she has learned a lot since the NCAA Championships a year ago.

"Through trial and error, I realized that I do much better when I focus on my swim rather than the outcome of a race…I now put a lot less pressure on myself and have come to expect the unexpected."

After the record-setting swims Elaine Breeden and Julia Smit had at the Pac 10 Championships, "expect the unexpected" seems to be a good saying to keep in mind as these two swimmers head to the NCAA Championships next week.

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