Peirsol ready for trials

Steve Virgen

When Hayley Peirsol was 6, she had second thoughts about becoming

serious with swimming.

She was in the water when she was in diapers, and ever since,

swimming was meant for fun. Competition was the last reason Peirsol

would swim.

But then came age 6, when Peirsol went to the Irvine Novaquatics

to prepare for her racing days. Her first encounter with competitive

swimming was one she would rather forget, but remains as an

indication of just how far she has come.

While going through her first rounds of training, a coach shouted

instructions into a microphone. The loud, stern noise frightened

Peirsol.

“It scared me and I didn’t want to go back,” said Peirsol, a

former Newport Harbor High standout who has been training at UC

Irvine for the U.S. Olympic swim trials that begin Wednesday in Long

Beach. “I waited for about a year, and finally I said I would go

back. Then, I just stayed.”

Peirsol stuck with it and eventually became suited for distance

freestyle swimming. Throughout most of her childhood she was known as

the younger sister of backstroke phenom Aaron Peirsol. But lately,

she has shown flashes of brilliance, which is evidence that she is

capable of swimming in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Hayley Peirsol, 18, enjoyed a grand summer in 2003 but endured a

topsy-turvy freshman year at Auburn University. She showed she was on

the right track toward the Olympics by winning a silver medal in the

1,500-meter freestyle at the FINA World Championships last summer.

She was 11th in the 800 free.

But at Auburn Hayley Peirsol struggled, in regard to her

standards, during her freshman year. She did not reach the finals in

any of her events at the NCAA championships. She can’t explain why.

“That was really disappointing,” she said. “I try not to dwell on

that. I just say, ‘What are you going to do about it now?’ I just put

it behind me.”

Peirsol seemed to put the past behind her last month while

competing in the Janet Evans Invitational at the Charter All Digital

Aquatic Centre, the same venue that will host the U.S. Olympic swim

trials. Peirsol grabbed second place in the 800 free and third in the

400 free, the two events she will compete in next week.

She was edged by Kalyn Keller in the 800 free. Keller came in at

4:12.86, while Peirsol touched the wall at 4:12.88. Peirsol said she

regained her confidence and now she wants to make the U.S. Olympic

team. Team USA will take the top two in each event.

Peirsol’s older brother has had experience with the Olympics. He

took home the sliver medal in the 200 backstroke at the 2000 Games in

Australia. Now he’s expected to go back to the Olympics, as he is the

world-record holder in the event.

While most would expect Peirsol to seek advice from her older

brother, that is not generally the case within Peirsol’s family.

“As a family we really don’t talk about swimming that much,” she

said. “We just don’t bring it up. But I still learn from him. He’s

just a real laid-back guy and he doesn’t get all hyped up before a

big meet. That’s the thing with us. We just look at a big meet, like

the trials, as just another meet. If you look at it as any bigger

than that, you’re going to psyche yourself out.”

Even if Peirsol talked about swimming with her older brother,

there would not be that much of a discussion. Hayley Peirsol has

matured.

“I don’t really need to tell her much,” said Aaron Peirsol, who is

training in Texas. “She is pretty headstrong. She can hold her own.”

Hayley Peirsol has been holding her own during rigorous training

with Brent Lorenzen, who coached her from 1999 to January of 2003,

before reuniting with her recently.

She has had double workouts, Monday through Friday and one

training session on Saturday. She did not reveal the distance she

swims, but the work has been difficult, to say the least.

“It’s challenging,” said Lorenzen, a former Novaquatics coach who

is now an assistant at UCI. “There is a good balance of different

types of work. It’s all about getting in the right volume with the

right intensity.

“Hayley has been blessed with a great natural endurance,” he

continued. “She has a great capacity to do the work day in and day

out. The other thing that she has is strength. She has the great

ability to get up and race and not be intimidated. I think mentally,

she is very strong and oblivious to outside pressure. She has a great

shot [to make the U.S. Olympic team].”

When Peirsol returned home from school in early May, she contacted

Lorenzen and requested he coach her for the Olympic swim trials. She

said she feels comfortable with him. She also did not want to be

alone when she did the training, so she asked her friend and former

Newport Harbor teammate Nicole Mackey to join her at the pool at UCI.

Mackey, who will be a sophomore at Hawaii in the fall, is also in

the U.S. Olympic swim trials, competing in the 200 and 400 individual

medley.

The two have been motivating each other during workouts. Peirsol

said she is ready for the trials. The fear of competition she had

when she was a child has left her. She will be in the 400 free July

8. She has a greater chance to make the Olympic team in the 800 free

and will compete in that event, July 12.

“I definitely want to go to the Olympics,” she said. “My training

has been going well. I just look at it as whatever happens, happens.

You can’t expect too much. I just try to stay relaxed.”