SWIMMING : Stewart Wins Butterfly Title

As he closed in on the final 30 meters of the 200 butterfly Tuesday night, Melvin Stewart was gasping for air.

Such is the price Stewart is paying for attempting to combine a Hollywood acting career and a world-class swimming career.

“It really hurt,” he said after winning the national title in 1 minute 58.11 seconds. “I’m not exactly aerobically fit.”

Demands from his acting career will prevent Stewart, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder, from accepting the Pan Pacific team berth awarded to the top two finishers in each event.

“Mike Merrell automatically makes the team and he’s from my hometown (Charlotte, N.C.), so I think it works out really well,” Stewart said of USC’s Merrell, the third-place finisher.

By skipping next week’s trip to Japan, Stewart also will give up his berth on the U.S. team that will compete in the short course world championships in Spain next December.

In other highlights on the second of five days of competition: Jon Olsen passed Joe Hudepohl with 15 meters remaining in the 100 freestyle. Olsen, 24, won his first national title and became the fourth-fastest American ever in the 100 freestyle (49.33). In the 200 backstroke, Royce Sharp was timed in 1:58.81, missing his American record by 0.15 seconds.