Random Thoughts from the Deck

By John Lohn

CRANBURY, New Jersey, March 1. STARTING today, we’ll be referring to the upcoming World Championships in Melbourne as later this month. Yes, the biggest event before the next Olympiad is only a few short weeks away and the excitement is building at a rapid rate. Here are some random thoughts pertaining to the World Champs and other developments in the sport.

**In six weeks, Dara Torres will turn 40, considered by so many of those party-store decorations to be Over the Hill. Yeah, right. What Torres is doing in the pool, less than a year after giving birth to her daughter (Tessa), is downright amazing. Last week, competing at the Fort Lauderdale Masters Challenge, Torres set 35-39 Masters standards in the 50 freestyle (22.34) and 100 freestyle (49.72). More important, Torres provided further proof that she’ll be in the mix for an Olympic berth to Beijing.

Twice, Torres has hung up her suit and moved beyond the pool to explore other options in life. After qualifying for the Olympics in 1984, 1988 and 1992, she embarked on a seven-year retirement that ended in her return for the 2000 Games in Sydney. There, Torres won five medals, raising her career total in the Olympic hardware department to nine. Following Sydney, retirement called again.

Having already successfully negotiated one comeback, Torres is now writing Chapter 3 of her illustrious career. And, considering her track record, there’s no reason to doubt her ability, even as an elder stateswoman, to see this thing all the way through to Beijing. In the 50 free, Torres might have her best chance to qualify on an individual basis. As for the 100 free, there’s a bit more maneuverability as six slots are open due to relay responsibilities.

Should Torres go to Omaha for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials and fail to reach her fifth Games, her attempt will be far from a disappointment. That she’s out there as a 39-year-old swimming world-class times is a testament to her athletic prowess and spectacular mental approach. Torres, simply, is inspirational. Yet, there’s a feeling here that Torres will be much more than a longshot in Omaha. Look for her to be in a championship final, capable of enhancing an already glorious career.

**In recent weeks, one of the big stories in the sport was Grant Hackett’s decision to leave longtime coach Denis Cotterell to train under Ian Pope. Engaged, Hackett cited the move as an easier way to work with wedding plans. Many have wondered whether Hackett will remain in top form after parting ways with the man who sculpted his career.

What’s been lost in the change, however, is Hackett’s chase for a fifth consecutive world title in the 1,500 freestyle. No one in history has notched a quintet and if Hackett can turn back the likes of Larsen Jensen, Tae-Hwan Park and David Davies, few will make an issue of the coaching change. Rather, they will return to lauding Hackett’s ability, skill that has made him one of the greatest freestylers to ever walk the planet.

**Across the board, Melbourne figures to provide a plethora of down-to-the-wire races. But, an argument can be made that the top matchups could emerge in the male versions of the 200 and 400 individual medley disciplines. There, the American tandem of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will battle with, among others, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh and Tunisia’s Ous Mellouli.

At the Missouri Grand Prix, Phelps and Mellouli battled to the wall in the 400 I.M., with the world-record holder edging his Tunisian foe by a small margin. Meanwhile, Cseh turned in a sub-2:00 time in the 200 I.M. at the French Cup. It would not be out of the question to see the first 4:07 come out of the 400 I.M.

**If the United States is to challenge world-record holder Australia for gold in the 400 medley relay, it’s going to likely need some lifetime-best performances to pull off the feat, most notably on the middle two legs. While Natalie Coughlin is almost certain to push the American unit to a lead after the backstroke leg – and a sizable edge is possible – the most daunting chore for the U.S. is to hang with the duo of Leisel Jones and Jessicah Schipper on breaststroke and butterfly, respectively.

While Jones has taken the breaststroke to never-before-seen heights, Schipper is the favorite for gold in the 100 and 200 fly events in Melbourne. The good news for the U.S. is that Tara Kirk recently popped her first sub-1:07 effort for the 100 breast and quality competition should exist for that leg with Jessica Hardy. Meanwhile, Rachel Komisarz dipped under the 58-second mark at the Missouri Grand Prix, a good sign. The anchor leg, if she’s at the same level as last summer, likely belongs to Amanda Weir, swimming against Libby Lenton or Jodie Henry.

The American squad is staring at a major challenge, but one that’s not impossible to overcome.

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