Hansen Sets Water Mark

Brendan Hansen finally found the proper resting place for his lingering flashbacks of 2000, a watery grave of sorts for his two third-place finishes at the Olympic trials.

It vanished in 59.30 seconds in a temporary pool in downtown Long Beach. Hansen, 22, of Longhorn Aquatics, became the first American to complete the men’s 100-meter breaststroke in under a minute, setting a world record Thursday night at the U.S. Olympic trials in front of 8,408.

Kosuke Kitajima of Japan, who won the 100 breaststroke in 59.78 at the world championships last summer, had held the world record.

“The first thing I remember was the announcer screaming over the loudspeaker, ‘A new world record!’ ” Hansen said. “And you’re kind of like, ‘Well, that’s not me.’

” ... The crowd was amazing tonight. Long Beach couldn’t have done it any better, putting this facility together where 10,000 Americans can be sitting here watching us swim. I think that’s the reason we’re swimming so fast.”

His world record was the second in the first two days at the trials and came one event after the emotional high point of the meet, following Jenny Thompson’s swim in the women’s 100 butterfly.

Thompson, 31, all but qualified for her fourth Olympic team, finishing second in 58.98 to Rachel Komisarz, 27, of Lakeside Swim Team, who went 58.77. Not only was the crowd straining for Thompson to make it, but coaches such as Dave Salo of the Irvine Novaquatics and Teri McKeever of Cal were celebrating along with everyone else in the stands.

The semifinals helped set the stage for potentially compelling finals tonight -- the men’s 100 backstroke, the men’s 200 freestyle and the women’s 100 breaststroke -- and Thursday’s program ended with some family history. Kalyn Keller of USC, who finished second in the women’s 400 freestyle to teammate Kaitlin Sandeno, joined her older brother Klete on the Olympic squad.

Her placement is virtually assured, and it is the third time that a brother and sister have made the same U.S. Olympic swim team. Klete Keller said he was more nervous during her swim than any of his races.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Klete Keller was the second-fastest qualifier for tonight’s 200 freestyle in 1:47.65, behind Michael Phelps’ 1:47.42.

“There’s still a lot in the tank. But I probably didn’t feel as fresh as I did last night,” said Phelps, who broke his own world record in the 400 individual medley Wednesday.

Though Phelps owns the American record in the 200 freestyle, Keller thinks the number will change. “I’m sure that record will be broken,” Keller said.

The only numbers Hansen was aiming for was the 1 or 2 next to his name, having looked at the No. 3 in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at the 2000 trials in Indianapolis.

“I really don’t want to go back there,” he said. “But probably the best way to think about it is somebody running over your dog. Your best friend. It hurt.”

His coach, Eddie Reese, said, laughing: “And he has a dog.” Reese, who is the University of Texas men’s coach and also the men’s coach for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, has been aware of the four years of angst. He is doing a daily diary for the Longhorns, and Reese wrote about how scared Hansen was before his first heat Wednesday.

“He put a lot of old stories to bed with that swim,” Reese said. “That was a phenomenal first 50 and an incredible second 50. He did have this race called. He told me, the first race, he’d break 1:01, next race, he’d break the American record, and then he said he wanted to be the first American under a minute.”

Reese was standing on the pool deck, chatting with reporters, and turned to Tarrah Smith Pollaro of USA Swimming communications.

“If someone said 59.3, I’d have bet Tarrah and my house on it that he wouldn’t have been able to,” he said.

So, did he think Hansen was happier about making the team than breaking the world record?

“I’m not known for short answers, but the best answer I can think of is yes,” Reese said.

Hansen left no doubt. The images of 2000 were hard to shake, he admitted.

“I just remember sitting in the warm-down pool with my head on my knees and thinking about how close I was to making the team,” he said.

“I remember Jim Gray coming up to me and saying, ‘How does it feel to miss it twice in a row?’ ”

Instead, there were others facing those questions. The showdown between Hansen and former American record holder Ed Moses never materialized. Moses was well off the pace, finishing sixth in 1:02.28.

“I just haven’t been feeling real good,” Moses said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m sick. But I had some problems yesterday, midday, but that’s the way things go. I think I ate something. But I’m not going to sit here and make that as an excuse. To be far off from my times, something ain’t right. I did those times when I was 17 years old.”

He knew something was off in preliminaries and couldn’t correct the course.

Thompson faced a similar set of circumstances. She struggled in her 100 fly preliminary but was able to reverse her fortunes, starting with the semifinals.

“I’m feeling pretty relieved,” Thompson said. “I got better with every swim and am really happy to make the team. It’s something I can never take for granted, making an Olympic team.”