OMAHA, Neb. — To breathe or not to breathe?
That's the question facing the sprinters in the men's and women's 50-meter freestyle (aka: splash-and-dash). In a race that's over before you even have a chance to digest the start, establishing a proper breathing pattern can make all of the difference.
Each swimmer has his or her own preference. Cullen Jones needed only one breath to travel the length of the pool inside the Qwest Center and set an American record in Friday morning's preliminary race. He sped home in 21.59 seconds, breaking Gary Hall Jr.'s 8-year-old mark of 21.76.
"I feel like it surges me," he said.
Still, Jones also said he's been training without a breath so "when I get the treat of being able to breathe, it gives me power to finish the race strong."
Dara Torres, who qualified for her fifth Olympic team in the women's 100 freestyle and will swim in the women's 50 freestyle prelims today, takes a breath every three strokes, and, like Jones, Hall Jr. relies on one big gasp.
"It all depends if the breath interrupts the performance," said Swim MAC Carolina coach Dave Marsh.
Unlucky 13?
That's hardly the case when it comes to Crow Canyon Sharks swimmer Madison White. The 13-year-old advanced to the women's 200 backstroke semifinals Friday after coming to the trials seeded 19th in the event. White finished 15th overall in the prelims (2:13.34) and
It was quite an accomplishment, strengthened only by the fact that Stanford's Julia Smit and Cal's Lauren Rogers didn't get that far. They finished 18th and 19th, respectively, in the prelims and missed the semifinals cut. White finished 12th in the semifinals (2:13.33). The top eight advanced to today's final.
"After this morning, I found out I was in the semifinals and I was fine with it," she said. "Then, we started getting here, and I was like, 'Wow, this is it. I'm going to be on TV.' "... I loved it. I'm so excited I got to be here. Hopefully, I'll get to be here again in four more years."
Sounding off
Apparently, Kosuke Kitajima of Japan was paying extremely close attention to rival Brendan Hansen's stunning failure to earn an Olympic berth in the men's 200 breaststroke Thursday night.
"For a swimmer of his level, it shouldn't be that difficult to qualify," he told the International Herald Tribune. "He didn't seem to set his goals and rise to the challenge just one month before the Olympics."
Hansen held the world record in the event until Kitzjima swooped in and stole it last month, setting up what was supposed to be a defining race in Beijing. Hansen came up short at the trials, finishing fourth.
— Jennifer Starks
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