Hall Fastest in 50-Meter
I N D I A N A P O L I S, Aug. 14, 2000 -- Gary Hall Jr. allowed himself the relative
luxury of taking six breaths in the 50-meter freestyle
preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swim trials today.
He won’t be so greedy next time.
Hall led 16 qualifiers into the evening semifinals with a timeof 21.93 seconds, slightly less than three-tenths of a second offRussian Alexander Popov’s world record.
“Everybody’s different. Some take no breaths, but I’ve alwaysenjoyed breathing,” said Hall, who’ll limit himself to 2-3 breathsduring the semis. “It’s something I’ve been doing since I was alittle kid and I hope to carry it on.”
Neil Walker of Austin, Texas, was second at 22.05. Both he andHall went under the trials record of 22.12 set by Matt Biondi in1992.
Can Come Up for Air Now
“The 50 is hard to swim in the morning, particularly as thefirst event, because it’s tough to get going,” said Walker, who’salready going to Sydney. “Gary swam well and I’m sure he’ll getfaster each time he swims. I’m just hoping to stick with him.”
Two men aiming to be the first black on a U.S. Olympic swimmingteam had differing results.
Anthony Ervin of Valencia, Calif., virtually assured of a spoton the 400 freestyle relay after finishing fifth in the 100 freeSunday night, was third-quickest at 22.12. That tied Biondi’strials record.
Sabir Muhammad of Atlanta has a tougher task. He was 15th at23.22, and will need to be among the top eight to make Tuesdaynight’s final.
Muhammad finished last in the 100 free final Sunday night in hisonly other chance.
Jon Olsen of Westerville, Ohio, a four-time Olympic goldmedalist in relays, was disqualified for a false start in the 50.
Strong Comeback After Sunday’s Loss
Hall came back strongly about 14 hours after finishing second toWalker in the 100 free Sunday. The adrenaline from that race madefor a nearly sleepless night.
“The excitement of making the Olympic team was definitelyenough to keep me awake,” he said.
Hall won silver in the 50 and 100 free at the 1996 AtlantaGames, but his life has been troubled since then. He was suspendedfor three months in 1998 after testing positive for marijuana, thenlearned last year he has diabetes.
The Phoenix resident didn’t earn a qualifying time for thetrials until a month ago and often has to give himself up to eightinsulin shots a day to cope with his illness.
“I’m stoked to be going to Sydney,” he said.
The sixth night of the trials features finals in the women’s 200breaststroke and 100 free, and the men’s 200 backstroke and 200individual medley.