The ordeal started with Dave Durden<\/strong> emphatically gesticulating behind the blocks and ended one hour later with Durden on the ground.<\/p>\n

In between, one of his backstrokers took advantage of a controversial\u2014but deserved\u2014second chance that epitomized a week where just about everything has broken the Golden Bears\u2019 way.<\/p>\n

With Cal sophomore Daniel Carr<\/strong> swimming in heat six of prelims for the 100 back, Durden watched as normal for about the first 45 yards, with Carr swimming directly in front of the Cal swimmers and coaches in lane one. But when Carr reached the flags, Durden noticed that the backstroke wedge was still in the water. With Carr swimming at top speed into his second turn, he was about to smack his feet.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Carr nicked the wedge, and it popped into the air. Carr\u2019s reaction was the same as any normal swimmer: He was rattled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to over-kick, trying to compensate for that mistake,\u201d Carr said. \u201cI was thinking, \u2018What did I just hit? What happened?\u2019 It kind of threw off the second 50 of my 100 back.\u201d<\/p>\n