Brooke Bennett pushes herself hard in the Women's 800 meter Freestyle Finals during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials. (Allsport)

Bennett and Munz are the leading qualifiers for Tuesday night's final at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Other finals on the seventh night of the eight-day trials are the women's 200 backstroke and the men's 100 butterfly and 50 free.

Bennett and Munz were more than three seconds faster than anyone else in the 800 preliminary field. But like the rest of the world, they are nowhere close to Evans' world record of 8 minutes, 16.22 seconds set in 1989 when she was 17.

Bennett, 20, completed the 16-lap prelim in 8:32:84, making her more than 16 seconds slower than Evans. Munz's time of 8:33.47 was more than 17 seconds off.

"I don't even look at that. Those are so much faster times than I'm going right now," Munz said. "It may be reachable, but I've got to do it gradually. It's going to take time."

The United States has won the Olympic 800 free six of eight times since the event began in 1968. The only exceptions: 1976, when East Germany's doping scandal had yet to be uncovered, and 1980, when the Americans boycotted the Moscow Games.

Evans believes the tradition will continue in Sydney.

"It's going to be one of our strongest events," she said. "It makes me happy."

Munz and Bennett already have made the Sydney Games in the 400 free, where Evans' world record is 4:03.85. Evans also owns the record in the 1,500 free, which is not an Olympic event for women.

"I get a little bit more possessive of them each year," Evans said of her marks.

Bennett's lifetime best in the 800 is 8:25.06. Munz's best is 8:29.11, which she swam at spring nationals in March.

"All three of (Evans') times are incredibly fast, but I think I can reach all three," said Bennett, who favors the 800 over the 400. "I definitely feel I have the potential to break that world record. My best time is nine seconds off, but if you think about 16 laps, nine seconds isn't really that bad."

Bennett had a heated rivalry with Evans in the year leading up to the 1996 Olympics. At the trials, Bennett beat Evans in the 800. In Atlanta, Bennett won the gold and Evans wound up sixth.

Bennett, of Plant City, Fla., pondered why no one has made a serious run at Evans' time.

"When you're hurting those last 200 meters, you've got to bury your head and forget about the pain," she said.

Munz, an 18-year-old from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, broke through on the national scene in 1996. She's moved up quickly, however, with a silver medal in the 800 free at the 1998 world championships and bronze at the 1997 Pan Pacific meet.

She speaks in a reverential tone, as if Evans set standards no one can reach.

"They're incredible times," she said. "Hopefully, we'll get down there someday."