Olympic Trials Day One Prelims

TORRES SETS AMERICAN RECORD AT OLYMPIC TRIALS

INDIANAPOLIS, August 9. DARA Torres blasted to a new American record in the women’s 100 meter fly, and Ed Moses established a new Olympics Trials mark in the men’s 100 breast to highlight preliminary action on the first day of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.

1-400 IM Women Prelims

The opening event of the meet tonight should feature a tight race among top qualifier Kaitlin Sandeno (4:44.18); second fastest qualifier, Cristina Teuscher (4:44.26); and Maddy Crippen, in third (4:46.13).
Fourth qualifier Maggie Bowen (4:48.96) could also be in the running, as could fifth qualifier Kristine Quance-Julian (4:49.10) and Katie Yevak (4:49.47). Michala Kwasny qualified seventh in 4:50.38, and Keegan Walkley rounds out the final heat in 4:50.76.
Quance-Julian, 25, was disqualified for an illegal turn in prelims of the 1996 Olympic Trials in this event, after recording a time that would have qualified first. She made the team in the 100 breast and 200 IM. At the 1992 Trials, she was hampered by a bout with mononucleosis. In December 1998, she and fellow USC swimmer Jeff Julian had a baby boy, Trenton Jeffrey, who is at the meet to cheer her on.
Sandeno, 17 and swimming for the Nellie Gail Gators, has won this event at the past three nationals. Teuscher, 22 and representing Badger, won this event at the 2000 NCAA Championships. Crippen, 20, was third in this event at spring nationals.

Event 2: Men 400 free Prelim

Comeback Kid Chad Carvin is the top qualifier going into the finals of the 400 free. Carvin, 26, missed the 1996 Olympic Trials after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition (cardiomyopathy) in December 1995. He surprised many with his inspirational comeback, but then suffered another setback with a bulging disc in his back that forced him to withdraw from the World Championship team in 1998.
Carvin, representing Mission Viejo, should have a tight race with Erik Vendt (3:51.67) and rising star Klete Keller (3:51.92). Rounding out the final are Robert Margalis (3:52.76), Scott Goldblatt (3:52.93), Kevin Clements (3:52.98), Jon Younghouse (3:53.17) and Chris Thompson (3:53.24).
Vendt, 19 and swimming for the Squids, won the 1500 in American record time at this year’s NCAA Championships, where he also took second in the 400.
Keller, 18 and swimming for Phoenix Swim Club, won the 5 kilometer open water event at the 1999 Pan-Pacific Championships. He took third in the 400 free at spring nationals.

3-100 Fly Women Prelims

Dara Torres set a new American record with a stunning prelim performance, splitting 26.50 at the 50—just 13-hundredths off Inge De Bruijn’s world record split—and touching in 57.58, smashing Jenny Thompson’s 1999 mark of 57.88. Torres, 33, is hoping to make her fourth Olympic team.
Thompson followed up Torres’s mark with a stellar morning swim of her own, turning in a 57.89, just one hundredth shy of her former record.
The rest of the field going into the semi-finals tonight also promises tight competition, with a host of Olympic veterans and butterfly stars battling it out.
Third qualifier Karen Campbell (58.90) took bronze in this event at Short Course Worlds this year.
Misty Hyman, the former short course meters world record-holder in this event, qualified fourth in 59.40,
1992 Olympian Ashley Tappin qualified fifth in 59.54, and the1996 Olympic bronze medalist in this event, Angel Martino, another 33 year-old, qualified sixth with a 59.55.
Shelly Ripple was seventh in 1:00.07 and Richelle Fox qualified eighth at 1:00.18.
The top eight are an especially experienced group: both Torres and Martino are 33, Thompson is 27, Tappin is 25 and Fox is 26.
Torres and Thompson, both swimming for Stanford, and Tappin, were all teammates on the Olympic gold 400 free relay in 1992. Torres had also won gold on this relay in 1984, as well as a bronze on the 400 free relay and sliver on the 400 medley relay in 1988. Torres holds a total of 12 national titles.
In addition to the 400 free relay gold, Thompson also won Olympic golds on the 400 medley and 800 free relays in 1996. In 1992, she collected golds in the 400 free and medley relays and a silver in the 100 free.
The semifinals are rounded out with Dana Kirk (1:00.65), Mary Descenza (1:00.69), Natalie Coughlin (1:00.71), Bethany Goodwin (1:00.71), Laura Davis (1:00.73), Melissa Greene (1:01.11), Rachel Komisarz (1:01.15) and Nicole Beck (1:01.35).

4- Men 100 Breast Prelim

Ed Moses set a new Olympic Trials record in qualifying first in the 100 breast, splitting 28.33 to go 1:01.19 and break Nelson Diebel’s 1992 mark of 1:01.40.
Pat Calhoun, 19 and representing Auburn, turned in one of the morning’s surprise swims to qualify second in 1:01.63. Brendan Hansen, 18, of Suburban was third in 1:01.75, followed by Calhoun’s teammate David Denniston in 1:02.13.
Anthony Robinson, swimming in lane 8 in only the sixth of 11 heats, was fifth in 1:02.41, Jarrod Marrs sixth in 1:02.62, and Jeff Hopwood and Mark Gangloff tied for seventh in 1:02.91.
Completing the semi-final are Kyle Salyards (1:03.07), Bobby Middleton (1:03.30), Steve West (1:03.39), Daniel Kim (1:03.46), Jeremy McDonnell (1:03.57), Joshua Hack (1:03.58), Patrick Fowler (1:03.66) and Ross Binkley (1:03.73).
Moses, 20, won both breast distances at spring nationals and the NCAA Championships, where he set three short course meters world records. Denniston finished second in both events at NCAAs.
1996 Olympic 400 medley relay gold medalist Kurt Grote, hampered by a bad knee, finished in1:04.55, tied for 26th with another Olympic hopeful, Michael Norment.
Wally Dick, the oldest swimmer in the meet at 37, was 41st out of 83 in 1:05.19.

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