Peirsol breaks American record

Aaron Peirsol said he’s more of an expert when it comes to meters,

rather than yards. But, Peirsol said he’s now becoming more

comfortable with yards, especially after his record-breaking

performance that came Saturday at the NCAA Swimming and Diving

Championships at the University of Texas.

Peirsol, the Newport Harbor High product who now swims for the

Texas Longhorns, is the new American- and NCAA-record holder in the

200-yard backstroke after he became the first man to go under 1:40.

Peirsol finished in 1:39.16. In the preliminaries he broke the

original record when he finished in 1:40.01. The original record was

set in 1995 by Brian Retterer of Stanford in 1:40.06.

“It felt as if I was extremely elated,” Peirsol said in a

telephone interview. “After the race, I was just floating around and

it felt like I was on cloud nine. It’s been quite a weekend.”

Peirsol, the world-record holder in the 200-meter back, was named

NCAA Swimmer of the Year after his dazzling performance in the

200-yard back. He also helped the Longhorns set two American records

in relay events, the 200 and 400 medley relays.

He swam the backstroke portion, which is the leadoff, in both

races. In the 200 medley relay, Texas finished in 1:24.46 and

Peirsol’s split was in 21.49. The Longhorns broke the original record

by a one-hundredth of a second.

Peirsol, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Five-time Big 12

Conference Champion, said he thoroughly enjoyed his debut in the NCAA

Championships.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Peirsol, who went undefeated this

season in the 200-yard back. “I just really wanted to help the team

out. It’s just so much easier to swim for the team than for yourself.

I have confidence in them and they have confidence in me. It’s like

putting pieces together for a puzzle.”

Peirsol also finished second in the 100 back and was part of the

Longhorns’ win in the 800 freestyle relay. He still seemed content

even though three-time defending champion Texas finished second in

the NCAA Championships with 413 points. Auburn won the NCAA title

with 609.5 points, ending the Longhorns’ three-year reign.

“People will look at this and just say we finished second,”

Peirsol said. “But, it’s almost as if we won, since Auburn was so

incredible. It’s amazing for a team to go off like that.”

Peirsol said his next meet will be, “The Duel in the Pool,” the

U.S. vs. Australia made-for-TV event, April 5-6 in Indianapolis. The

meet will be televised by NBC the following weekend.

-- Steve Virgen