Headed back to Games
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Jenny Thompson wasn’t ready to give up swimming. Now, she’ll likely finish her brilliant career with a fourth trip to the Olympics.
Thompson finished second in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic trials on Thursday, which should be good enough to get the 31-year-old, 10-time medalist to the Athens Games.
Only one other American swimmer, former Thompson rival Dara Torres, has competed in four Olympics.
“The fourth one is just as sweet as the first one,” Thompson said.
For the second night in a row, the temporary pool next to Long Beach Harbor produced a world record. Brendan Hansen broke the mark in the men’s 100 breaststroke, dominating the field with a time of 59.30 seconds.
The expected duel with Ed Moses never materialized. The Sydney silver medalist missed a spot on the team by finishing sixth, nearly 3 seconds behind the winner.
Hansen redeemed the gut-wrenching disappointment of the 2000 trials, when he finished third in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes — just missing the team in both events.
“I was racing the Brendan Hansen from the 2000 Olympic trials,” he said. “I’m definitely looking forward to the Olympics. This is a stage I’ve never been on before.”
The top two in each event are expected to represent the United States in Athens. That bodes well for Thompson, who put off her medical career to go for a fourth Olympics.
Rachel Komisarz touched the wall first in 58.77, while Thompson held on for second at 58.98. She barely nipped Demerae Christianson, who was 0.11 seconds behind in third.
“It’s a bit of a relief,” Thompson said. “My preliminary swims weren’t that great.”
Thompson, who won the event at last year’s world championship, hasn’t gotten back to that level. She finished 1.4 seconds off her time from the 2000 Olympic trials.
“Things weren’t working as well as they were last summer,” said her coach, John Collins. “I think she can go faster as the weeks go on. Her freestyle has been looking better than her fly.”
Thompson also has entered the 50 and 100 freestyles, giving her a chance to swim more events at the Olympics and take care of some unfinished business.
Despite winning more medals than any female Olympian, Thompson has never earned an individual gold. All her wins have come in relays.
Hansen, who broke the American record he shared with Moses in the semifinals, went even faster in the final. He easily eclipsed the record of 59.78 set by Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima at last year’s world championships.
When Hansen saw the time, he slapped the water with his right hand and shook his head in disbelief.