Hall Displays Power in Eclipsing Record

INDIANAPOLIS —  So, it may not take a village to break a 10-year-old swimming record, but Gary Hall Jr. reached out and found indirect inspiration from two famous American sporting icons Tuesday at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

There were the red, white and blue boxing trunks he got at a Muhammad Ali benefit for Parkinson’s disease. He flexed his muscles on the deck and did the same in the pool, showing off his power in winning the 50-meter freestyle in an American-record 21.76 seconds. On the awards stand, he quoted tennis legend Billie Jean King.

And now Hall, who suffers from diabetes, will serve as inspiration to others, and so may 19-year-old Anthony Ervin of Valencia, who finished second in 21.80, also under the previous record of 21.81 set by Tom Jager in March 1990. The only faster man in the event is two-time defending Olympic champion Alexander Popov of Russia, who went 21.64 in a time trial in June.

“It’s a record that’s been up there so long ago, it’s been unattainable,” said the 25-year-old Hall, who sometimes needs as many as eight insulin injections a day. “It’s such a fixture. To pass that is really exciting.

“And now, there’s a new fixture that Alex has set and that’s next.”

When he found he had diabetes last year, Hall quickly educated himself about the disease on the Internet.

“Most of all, I read all the horror stories. It was depressing,” said Hall, who has brought the disease under control.

Inspiration was the theme of the seventh day of the trials. Seventeen-year-old Kaitlin Sandeno of Lake Forest and the Nellie Gail Gators qualified for her third individual event, placing second in the 800 freestyle. She came from behind to overtake Diana Munz in the back half of the race and withstood a furious challenge from Munz in the final 50, taking second by only 0.05 of a second.

Defending Olympic champion Brooke Bennett was first in a personal-best 8:23.92. Sandeno went 8:28.61, well below her previous best of 8:34.65, and Munz, the silver medalist at the ’98 World Championships, was third in 8:28.66. Another swimmer with local ties, Lindsay Benko of the Trojan Swim Club, qualified for her second individual event, finishing second in the 200 backstroke in 2:13.19.

But Sandeno will probably be faced with the most difficult workload at the Sydney Olympics. She won the 400 individual medley on the first day of the trials and placed second in the 200 butterfly.

“I’m kind of wondering the same thing,” Sandeno said of handling the three events. “When I touched the wall, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I have the three hardest events.’ ”

She noticed her mother, Jill, in the stands after the race at Indiana University’s Natatorium.

“I know my mom is freaking out. She was like, ‘Oh my heart,’ ” Sandeno said, tapping her chest. “I never imagined three events at the Olympics. I’m going to do my best. I think being 17 will be an advantage.”

Her coach, Vic Riggs, was doing his share of squirming in the final 50. “I was thinking, ‘Get to the wall,’ ” he said.

“It wasn’t like I had a lot over her,” Sandeno said of the final 50. “I usually come home strong. I had to dig deep and get to that wall and get first or second.”

Said Riggs: “I think that just shows what a competitor she is. She’s trained awfully hard for this. You’re seeing one of the most versatile swimmers in the U.S. for a long time.”

The grueling marathon of the 800 was immediately followed by the short-burst glamour of the men’s 50. Hall and Ervin both train at the Phoenix Swim Club with the Sprint 2000 team, coached by Mike Bottom, who also works with Ervin at Cal.

Bottom gave Ervin the same sort of pre-race advice he issued at the NCAA Championships when Ervin won both sprints, the 50 and 100.

“I told him he’s is the best racer I’ve ever seen,” Bottom said. “It was exciting to see him do exactly what I knew he could do.”

It took the second-best performance ever in the 50, by Hall, to edge Ervin, who quite simply is the new kid off the block on the national scene. Hall and Ervin have made each other better in their training.

“He’s one of the most fierce competitors, sometimes we butt heads,” Hall said, smiling.

It has been a tumultuous few days for Ervin, who went to Newhall Hart High and will be a sophomore at Cal. He became the first swimmer of African American descent to make the U.S. Olympic team, securing a spot in a relay on Sunday, and was hit with a barrage of questions about the accomplishment.

There was more to him than that, his mother, Sherry, pointed out. “He’s truly blossomed under Mike Bottom,” she said. “He’s totally bonded with him. You have to understand he’s swimming in an older man’s event. It’s not easy.”

Now, having qualified for the team in an individual event, Ervin was able to spend more time talking about his swimming than his heritage. He was only asked a couple of questions about it and drew loud applause from his coach, Bottom, who was standing in the back of the interview room.

“First of all, it’s not like I’m trying to understate it,” he said. “I’m not trying to belittle it. I just never thought about it if I made the team. I never thought it would happen.

“I’m just who I am. I don’t think of myself as a race. I’m just Anthony. Hopefully I can be a role model for just about anybody, whether I’m black, white or brown.”

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U.S. Olympic Trials

Today’s schedule:

5 p.m.

* Women’s 50 freestyle final

* Men’s 1,500 freestyle final