SportsLine.com wire reports
Aug. 16, 2000

INDIANAPOLIS -- The American swimmers wanted to send a long-distance message to Sydney. Now, they'll have to deliver it in person.

At the Olympic Swimming Trials, the U.S. didn't come close to matching those record-breaking Aussies, who turned their May selection meet into a one-country assault on the world -- with a particular eye on how things were being received back in the States.

By the time the chlorine settled, Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill had established a total of three new world records for Australia.

There was little chance of any new marks being set at the eight-day U.S. trials. The Americans were well off the standard in the women's 50-meter freestyle and men's 1,500 free, their final opportunities to force a revision of the record book before Sydney.

Clearly, the Aussies must be feeling pretty good about themselves as they prepare for next month's Olympic showdown with the United States, traditionally the strongest swimming nation in the world.

"It's a concern," said Richard Quick, coach of the U.S. women's team. "If you look at the records being set around the world and the times we've had at these trials, we're definitely painted as an underdog."

While the Americans did set eight new national records before the meet's final night, several swimmers came up short of expectations. Most notably, Lenny Krayzelburg failed to eclipse his own records in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, admitting afterward he was a little disappointed.

"I promise you I'll be better in Sydney," Krayzelburg said.

The country's other active world record-holders, Tom Dolan and Tom Malchow, couldn't match their best times, either.

"I guess I got myself in a situation by setting the record," said Malchow, who won the 200 butterfly but came up almost two seconds slower than his 2-month-old world mark. "It's a pretty good position to be in, I guess."

Remember, too, that the Americans failed to set any world records at their 1996 trials, also held at the Indiana University Natatorium. A few months later, they streaked to 13 gold medals at the Atlanta Games, eclipsing their strong performance at Barcelona four years earlier.

"I'm excited about our potential to compete," Quick said. "But it's not like we have slam dunks in any events."

Well, that's being a little pessimistic. For instance, Krayzelburg and trials runner-up Aaron Peirsol are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the world in the 200 backstroke. Brooke Bennett is defending Olympic champion in the 800 freestyle and favored to repeat.

"I can't see anyone dropping 2½ seconds in the next five weeks," Krayzelburg said, assessing the American advantage in the 200 back. "That would be a big surprise."

But Quick is reluctant to make comparisons with the 1996 trials, which gave little hint of the dominating performance that was to come in Atlanta.

"There's one significant difference," he said. "It's not like we're going to be swimming in our home pool at the Olympics. It's a huge advantage for the Australians. I know, because it was a huge advantage for us in Atlanta."

Swimming is a national sport in Australia, where the top swimmers are households names from the pub to the laundromat. The country erupted with patriotic fervor during last year's Pan Pacific Championships, giving a glimpse of what the Americans can expect at the Sydney Aquatic Center.

Some of the top U.S. swimmers downplayed the lack of record performances in Indy, saying their training schedule was geared to peak next month.

"It depends on how everyone was preparing for the meet," said Dara Torres, who was trying to qualify for her third individual event in the 50 free. "I don't want to break records here. I want to break them in Sydney."

Amy Van Dyken, who won four gold medals in Atlanta, is happy with the state of the U.S. program -- records or no records.

"It bodes well that so many American records were set here," she said. "I hope everyone puts doom and gloom on us again. It worked out well in Atlanta."

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