Champ’s new wave

In competitive ocean swimming, even the strongest of leads can be erased with one wave.

This is a principal that first-year Laguna Beach lifeguard Chad Carvin knows all too well.

The former world-class swimming standout is working as a lifeguard to prepare for a career as a firefighter.

Since the top athlete is expected to be a strong contender in the National Lifeguard Games in Huntington Beach Aug. 10-12, Marine Chief Mark Klosterman believes Carvin’s presence will put his department in the hunt for a team title.

“There are swimmers, and there are swimmers like Chad,” Klosterman said. “But I’ve seen guys way ahead of the pack caught by someone after they catch a good wave. Ocean swimming is unpredictable.”

For Carvin, being ahead of the pack is nothing new.

He is the second man since Mark Spitz in 1972 to win four individual titles at a U.S. Nationals competition and is the American record-holder for the 400-yard freestyle.

He also won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay team.

But things have not always gone smoothly for Carvin.

While training for the 1996 Olympics, his times began to slow down.

“I had no idea what was going on,” he said. “For a month and a half, I was progressively getting tired. I took a bunch of tests, but they all came out negative.”

With pressure from his coaches to resume training and no relief from his condition, Carvin had nowhere to turn.

“I was deeply depressed,” he said.

In what he admits was a lapse of judgment, Carvin attempted to overdose on over-the-counter sleeping pills.

His roommate at the time found him, and he was rushed to the hospital.

Through the course of his hospital stay, it was discovered Carvin had cardiomyopathy, a heart virus that constricted the efficiency of blood circulation.

“It was a freak thing,” he said.

With proper treatment, Carvin began a process of recovery.

“Get-well cards were sent from President Clinton and Tom Hanks as well as the competitive swimming community. But his condition kept him out of the 1996 Olympics.

Though successful in the 2000 Olympics, he missed making the 2004 team by .07 seconds.

“Everyone misses the team by small margins,” he said. “It’s a horrible way to end a career.”

After trying jobs in finance and sales, Carvin decided working a desk job was not in his best interest.

That’s why he believes he has made a good decision to become a firefighter.

He is finding himself right at home in Laguna as he makes it through his first season, working under the supervision of his older brother, J.J. Carvin, who has been a Laguna lifeguard since 1992.

“I fit in real easy, I like being part of a team,” he said. “Me and my brother have always had a good relationship.”

Though J.J. has decided not to compete in this year’s lifeguard games, Chad has recently picked up his own training.

Fresh from winning races at the San Clemente Ocean Festival, Chad is looking forward to the national event in Huntington Beach.

“I’m just going to go out and do what I can,” he said.dpt-21-lifegaurd-dl-CPhotoInfoL31T59V520060721j2q2euncCredit: DON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT Caption: (LA)Chad Carvin finishes a paddle-workout that took him to Thalia Street from Main Beach. Carvin is former Olympian who now guards the people who use Laguna’s ocean and sands.