Hayley Peirsol

Steve Virgen

There is a certain thought, rather a challenge, that Hayley Peirsol

keeps locked away in the back of her mind. Right now is a time to

enjoy her senior year, graduation and a carefree life. There’s no

reason to talk about the 2004 Olympics. The time will soon come when

that will be her everyday thought.

Peirsol ranks No. 7 in the world in the 800-meter freestyle

(8:36.27) in long-course competition. Long course is in a 50-meter

pool, as opposed to the short course in 25-meter pools.

“I don’t think about [the Olympics] too much,” said Peirsol, a

senior standout for the Newport Harbor High girls swim team. “That’s

the best way to deal with that. You might end up putting too much

pressure on yourself.”

She obviously wants to represent Team USA in Athens, but she’s all

about living in the now.

“I don’t know if it’s a bad thing, but I think whatever happens,

happens,” Peirsol said. “I’ll try my best in practice. I’ll try hard

to get whatever I can get, and get to where I can be. And, if I do

well I think I will deserve it.”

This past season, perhaps fittingly, Peirsol has been embracing

the moment. Carpe diem. Her busy club and international swim schedule

prevented her from swimming in every high school meet, but when she

did, she contributed to the Sailors in a big way.

“By her being there the rest of the girls had the sense that they

would be OK,” Newport Harbor Coach Ken LaMont said. “Last week, she

was great. She won two CIF titles. Going into this year, we never won

an individual event in CIF. The first event was the [200-yard

freestyle] and she won right off the bat.”

Peirsol, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, had some extra

motivation to touch the wall first May 16 at Belmont Plaza. Her

closest competitor was Adrienne Binder of San Marcos. The two are

friends and both will be competing for the University of Auburn next

year.

In the 200 free, Peirsol out-touched Binder by a little more than

a second, as the Newport Harbor senior finished in 1:49.82 to win the

CIF title. Peirsol won the 500 free in 4:45.57. She also helped the

Sailors secure second place in the 400 free, leading to Newport’s

second-place finish in CIF Division I.

“I really didn’t swim in that many [high school] meets, but this

season was really fun,” Peirsol said. “It was just real fun because

for some of us this was our last year and all of us were just having

a good time. It was just a good experience. Winning two titles and

the team finishing second was a good way to end the season.”

The high school season ended for Peirsol, but she still continues

to train. She will represent the U.S. in the FINA World Championships

July 20-27 in Barcelona, Spain. After that, she will prepare for

college life and then soon the Olympic trials will come.

Peirsol, a distance-freestyle swimmer, trains with the Irvine

Novaquatics. She swims four mornings a week and five nights a week,

averaging roughly 12,000 yards of freestyle strokes throughout the

day. The life of a distance freestyler is different than most

swimmers. There’s training that requires a special passion for

swimming.

“I think it takes a certain kind of discipline to get in there

early and stay later than everyone else,” Peirsol said. “The most

important thing is to have fun. I think if you don’t have fun you

don’t have a reason to be there. I’m thankful that I can have fun out

there because if I didn’t have that fun, I don’t think I would be

where I am right now.”

Peirsol also credited her success in swimming to her older

brother, Aaron, the world-record holder in the 200-meter backstroke

and 2002 Olympic silver medalist.

“He has played a big part,” Peirsol said. “I seen what he has

done. It’s cool to have that in the family. But, actually swimming is

not really a big thing in our house. We try not to talk about it too

much. When we do talk about it, it’s just really about encouraging

and to hear about his experiences. We don’t want to get too worked up

about swimming. We don’t want to get stressful or too nervous.”

She’ll think about the Olympics when the time comes.