Susie O'Neill

SYDNEY, --The Australian television and radio covered the finals freestyle mark, touching in 3:41.33, Olympic Trials and National live in prime time with cable TV cov- after turning in 1:49.14, almost two full Championships, May 13-20, saw five eting all the heats. One Sydney news- seconds under the pace he set here last world records broken at the Sydney paper had up to seven pages each day August. On the second day, "The International Aquatic featuring the meet-- Thorpedo" sank his second world Center, venue for the much of it to do with record in the semifinal of the 200 free Olympics in Septem- teenage sensation Ian with a time of 1:45.69, slashing 31-hun- ber, bringing the total to Thorpe. dredths off his mark from last August. 19 in this pool since the Just when you In the final of the 200 the next day, Pan Pacific Champio- thought Thorpe had Thorpe did it again, trimming his time nships last August. not surfaced for by another 18-hundredths to 1:45.51. Interest in the sport awhile, the mighty 17- The race was the fastest 200 freestyle of is at an year-old made sudden field in history, with six swimmers all-time high Down impact on the first clocking 1:48.15 or better. Michael Under. The meet domi- three days of competi- Klim, the current world champion nated the Australian tion. He repeated the over the distance, finished in 1:46.89, media and with it gen- amazing feat achieved with former world record holder, erated enormous pub- at Pan Pacs, with three , third in 1:47.81. Daniel lic interest. A record crowd of just over world records in three days! Kowalski finished fifth in 1:48.13- 100,000 people attended the eight days On the first night, he took exactly faster than his bronze medal swim in of competition. National free-to-air half a second off his old 400 meter Atlanta.

SWIMMING WORLDAND JUNIORSWIMMER JULY 2000 29 Surprisingly, Klim has since announced he will not swim the individual 200 free at the Olympics in order to concentrate on the 100 free and 100 fly. Grant Hackett will "1 now step up to the blocks to swim the 200, together with the 400 and 1500 free in . Sydney. Hackett, who took second in the mmm . !." N 400 in a slow 3:51.05, beat the dual Olympic gold medalist, Kieren an Perkins, in a two-horse race over his favorite 1500 distance. Hackett fin- ished 4.39 seconds ahead of his older two-hundredths of a second. Scott quarters of a second--the fastest time rival, touching in 14:56.35, the fastest Miller, the Atlanta silver medalist, in the world this year. Pan Pac bronze time in the world this year. Perkins failed to qualify for the team, finishing medallist, , also qualified was just over the 15-minute mark in fourth in 52.83. for the team, recording 54.82 for sec- 15:01.14, his best time since winning Klim made some amends for his ond place. Welsh also won the 200 in Atlanta, and the second fastest in narrow defeat, clocking the fastest time back with another personal best the world this year. A mistimed taper in the world this year in the 100 free. In 1:59.22, the third fastest time in the had hampered Hackett's performance setting a new Commonwealth and world this year, over Cameron over the shorter distances, after a viral Australian record time of 48.56, Klim Delaney (2:00.68). infection upset his training schedule turned one-tenth of a second under Matt Dunn made his third four weeks before the Trials. Alex Popov's world record pace. Olympic team when he qualified in Veteran sprinter, , swam a both individual medley events. He More Outstanding Times personal best 48.85 to take the second won the 200 IM in a very solid 2:01.28, The Aussie men recorded out- individual place on the team and ahead of Robert van de Zant (2:01.47), standing times in several other record the third fastest time in the and he took second place in the 400 IM events. set a world this year. In the 50 free, in 4:16.50, behind Justin Norris new world mark in the 5(- ,d[ Fydler (22.42) was a close sec- (4:16.23), soon after swimming a semi- fly with a 23.60, breaking ond behind training part- final of the 200 freestyle. Russian 's. ner (22.29), Teenagers Heath Ramsay and 1996 record by 8-hun- i" with both men clocking Justin Norris took the two available dredths of a second. Later m personal best times. places on the Olympic team in the in the week, his form Dorsal specialist men's 200 fly with strong perfor- translated into a thrilling clocked mances. Ramsey touched in 1",5Z49 to victory over world record ! .... 54.14 in the 100 back to beat the fast-finishing Norris by one- holder, , in ..~, ~ break his Australian hundredth of a second. the 100 fly. "~... ./~ '~ record by The biggest disappointment in the Huegill led Klim at the .... almost men's events was the failure of Pan turn, with both men under . m three- Pac dual gold medalist, Klim's world record pace. ,~, , to make the team. He Huegill held on to " finished second in the 100 behind vet- touch in 52.19, the eran (1:02.59), but missed fourth fastest time the Olympic qualifying time. He then in history and only I: finished fourth in the 200, won by one-hundredth of in 2:14.42. a second ahead of Klim. It was O'Neill Leads the Ladies sweet revenge Susie O'Neill was the star of the for Huegill, who women's events, as she finally broke t~ lost to Klim at m the great Mary T. Meagher's 19-year- 1 the Pan Pacs by '~ 'm old 200 meter butterfly world record.

30 SWIMMINGWORLD ANIbHNIOR SWIMMER JmJU With a capacity crowd of over seventh and fifth, respectively, in the 10,000 willing her on, the 26-year-old 100 and 200 breast. finally got the monkey off her back to , the 14-year-old rook- touch in 2:05.81. O'Neill's time was 15- ie, became the youngest member of hundredths under the oldest record in the team when she won the 100 the book, set in Brown Deer, Wis., on breast in 1:08.71 over Queensland Aug. 13, 1981. teammate, (1:09.05). She had the perfect foil in her Jones has had a sudden rise to poten- record-breaking swim, as Atlanta sil- tial stardom after clocking 1:08.30 at ver medalist, , pushed the National Age Championships in her all the way. O'Neill and Thomas April. were both under the world record In a surprise result, Caroline splits at every turn. O'Neill was able to Hildreth held off a fast-finishing hold her form to the wall to take the Rebecca Brown and Leisel Jones to sie O'Nei record and beat Thomas, who swam a win the 200 in a personal best time of world-class 2:07.21. 2:27.69. Brown's second place in 2000 Australian Olympic Team o'Neill also 2:28.98 put her on swam the world's the team and WOMEN fastest time for the capped a remark- Rebecca Brown, 23 200 breast , 24 100-200 bade, 400 MR 200 freestyle in able comeback for Sara-Jane D'Arcy, 23 400 free the former word almost three years Melanie Dodd, 27 400 FR and the fifth fastest record holder. bsey Giteau, 17 400 free in history, with a , Sybilla Goode, 18 400 FR 1:57.47 in a semifinal. the 1992 Olympic Elka Graham, 18 800 FR , 21 800 free, 400 IH She won the final in silver medalist for Caroline Hildreth, 22 200 breast the 800 freestyle, 1:57.70, well ahead Leisel Jones, 14 I00 breast, 400 HR of , whose time of made her third Olympic team, leading Hayley Lewis, 26 800 free 1:59.50 was the second fastest all-time from start to finish. Lewis had retired Susie O'Neill, 26 200 free, 100-200 fly, 800 FR by an Australian. O'Neill broke another following the Atlanta Olympics after a Elli Ovenon, 25 200 IM Australian record when she clocked disappointing performance. Now mar- , 16 400 IM Giann Rooney, 17 I00 back, 400-800 FR ried with a two-year-old boy, she had 54.86 seconds for the 1(30 free in the first , 23 50-100 free, 400 MR, 400 FR leg of a dub relay and swam a personal only returned to serious training in Clemen6ne Stoney, 18 200 back best 25.83 in a heat of the 50 free. November last year. Her winning time Pe~ia Thomas, 24 100-200 fly, 400 MR, 800 FR In the absence of o'Neill, Sarah of 8:35.56 was the fifth fastest in the , 16 800 FR Ryan won the 50 and 100 freestyle world this year, but still a long way off Jacinta van Lint, 21 400-800 FR Tamee White, 19 I00 breast her best of 8:26.86. Rachel Harris quali- double, docking personal best times of , 24 200 IN 25.90 and 55.46 to qualify for her sec- fied in second place in 8:38.73. ond Olympic team. Twenty-two-year-old Sarah-Jane MEN Petria Thomas broke her own D'Arcy swam a controlled race to win , 21 400 FR Commonwealth and Australian the 400 free in a personal best 4:11.60. Cameron Delaney, 19 200 back Matt Dunn, 26 200-400 IM record in a semifinal of the 100 fly in a She beat Kasey Giteau, who also quali- Chris Fydler, 27 50-100 free, 400 FR world-class 58.05 and went on to beat fied for her first Olympics in 4:12.27. Grant HacketC 20 200-400-1500 free, 800 FR Susie O'Neill in the final. O'Neill , the University of Regan Hamson, 21 200 breast recorded a personal best time of 58.71. California Berkeley-based Aussie, Brett Hawke, 24 50 Iree Dyana Calub showed she has the qualified for her third Olympics with a Geoff Huegill, 21 I00 fly , 24 200 fly, 800 FR potential to be a force in the women's solid performance in winning the 200 Michael Klim, 24 100-200 free, I00 fly, 400 MR, when she won all three IM. Her time of 2:14.66 was only 15 400-800 FR backstroke titles. She won the 100 in hundredths shy of her own Australian , 24 800 FR 1:01.71, with Giaan Rooney taking sec- record. Atlanta Olympian, Anna Ryan Mitchell, 23 200 breast ond in 1:02.58. Calub also won the 200 Windsor, also made the team in finish- Justin Norris, 19 400 IM , 22 400-800 FR ing second in 2:16.66. Jennifer Reilly in a personal best 2:13.35 over , 26 1500 free Clementine Stoney (2:13.58) and the 50 (4:44.20) and Rachel Harris (4:45.98) , 24 400 FR sprint in 28.86. both qualified for the team in the 400 Heath Ramsay, 19 200 fly Breaststroker Sam Riley was IM. Phil Rogers, 29 I00 breast, 400 MR lan Thorpe, 17 200-400 free, 400-800 FR nowhere near her best at Trials, having Josh Watson, 22 I00 back only partly recovered from a serious Steve Thomas, Swimming World's Australian Matt Welsh, 23 100-200 back, 400 MR kidney infection. She failed to qualify correspondent, is a former editorial consultant Rob van der/ant, 25 200 IM for her third Olympic team, finishing to Australian Swimming and Fitness Magazine.

SWIMMING WORLD AND JUNIOR SWIMMER JULY 2000 31