Swimming: Peirsol claims crown

Tony Altobelli

MISSION VIEJO - Aaron Peirsol is taking more than just a 200-meter

backstroke title home from the 2001 Swimming Meet of Champions.

He also received a wet version of “road rash,” thanks to a pesky lane

divider.

During Friday’s 200 back final, held at the Marguerite Recreation

Center, Peirsol was well out in front from the opening lap.

Just before the 100-meter mark, Peirsol suddenly became one with the

outside lane divider, giving the crowd a chance to gasp and point in

disbelief.

“It’s funny, because I thought I was right down the middle,” Peirsol

said, checking out the red mark on his back. “The next thing I knew, I

was hitting the lane divider.”

Peirsol, competing for the Irvine Novaquatics, barely lost his rhythm,

but the minor collision did cost the Olympic silver medalist the meet

record time of 1:58.95, set by world champion and two-time Olympic gold

medalist Lenny Krayzelburg, who beat Peirsol in this race last year.

The Newport Harbor High senior-to-be still managed to win the race in

2:00.37, five seconds ahead of runner-up Keith Beavers of Canada

(2:05.72).

“I think it would have been very close (to the record),” Novaquatics

Coach Dave Salo said. “In the backstroke, there are no landmarks, so it

can be tough to keep your bearings. That shows me that perhaps his stroke

was off a little bit. But he still recovered and put together a very good

time.”

This meet is Peirsol’s final tuneup before the World Championships,

held in Japan in July. “Aaron will compete in the 200 and 100 backstroke

events as well as the 400 medley relay,” Salo said.

Said Peirsol, “I’m really looking forward to the Worlds. I wish Lenny

(Krayzelburg) was racing with me, but there will still be some

unbelievable competition there anyway.”

Before his 200 back victory, Peirsol finished 12th in the 100

freestyle (53.44).

In other finals action, Newport Harbor’s Nicole Mackey finished eighth

in 4:31.00 after a sizzling preliminary race in the morning (4:24.49).

The junior-to-be also put together a solid race in the 200 back

consolation final (qualifiers 9-16), winning the race to place ninth

overall in 2:20.55. She also placed 15th in the 200 butterfly (2:22.50).

“I’m really trying to work on my distance races and getting more

strength and stamina this summer,” Mackey said. “After I didn’t get my PR

in the 200 back, I really wanted to win the consolation race, which I

did, so I’m happy about that.”

Another Sailor teammate, Hayley Peirsol, also pulled out a consolation

final victory in the 400 free (4:21.32).

“I took an energy drink before the race so perhaps that helped out a

bit,” Hayley Peirsol said. “Next up for me is the Janet Evans

Invitational in a couple of weeks, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Hayley’s brother, Aaron, would love to see his younger sister make the

trip to Athens, Greece for the 2004 Olympics. “She’s getting bigger and

she’s training hard,” Aaron said. “That would be sweet if that were to

happen.”

Salo called Hayley’s 400 free a breakthrough race.

“She’s got the tools to go a long way,” he said. “She’s got three

years and anything can happen.”

Sailors’ senior-to-be Ryan Lean qualified for the championship final

in the 400 free and finished seventh (4:04.25).

“Swimming is about breakthroughs and for Ryan, reaching the finals in

a field like this is a breakthrough,” Salo said. “It was his first-ever

final appearance at this meet and he put together a solid swim.”

Another Sailor standout, Andrew Cole, finished 11th in the 200 back

with a personal-best time of 2:09.46, giving Newport one of the best 1-2

backstroke combinations in Orange County.

“I came from a small town in Utah where I was a big fish in a small

pond,” Cole said. “Now, I’m a small fish in a very big pond, but it’s a

great place to learn and get better. Swimming with Aaron is a great

experience. He’s really helped me and inspired me to work as hard as I

can.”

During Thursday’s 800 free final, Hayley Peirsol placed fifth in

8:55.14, while on the boys’ side, Lean was eighth (8:24.64).The Meet of

Champions continues tonight with the finals of the 200 free, 200

breaststroke, 500 free and 400 individual medley. Preliminaries kick off

at 9 a.m. with the finals beginning at 5 p.m.

The Peirsol siblings, Cole, Lean, Carly Geehr and Jennifer Arrow are

the locals competing in this international field.