Mission Viejo Swimming : Biondi Sets American Record in 200 Freestyle

Matt Biondi broke the American record for the 200-meter freestyle Wednesday night in the Phillips 66/U.S. Swiming Long Course National Championships, causing almost as much commotion as he had the night before when he broke the world record in the 100-meter freestyle.

The meet is turning into the Matt Biondi story, the continuing saga of a rising star.

The American record Biondi broke with his time of 1:47.89 had belonged to Mike Heath, the Olympic silver medalist at 200 meters and the man who was swimming next to him. Heath had set the American record at 1:47.92 at the Olympic Trials last summer.

Biondi was less than half a second away from the world record held by Michael Gross of West Germany.

But the recurring theme in this continuing saga, the reason Biondi captures the imagination so, is Biondi’s incredibly quick rise and his seemingly unlimited potential.

The 200-meter freestyle race Biondi swam Wednesday night was his 10th ever. He swam the race for the first time in March of 1984. His previous best was recorded at the Olympic trials last summer--and he beat it by almost 5 1/2 seconds.

He’s new at this 200-meter stuff. Actually, he’s pretty new at this superstar stuff.

In 1982 and 1983 Biondi was coming in second and third in his best events in junior meets.

“Things have happened fairly quickly for me,” Biondi admitted.

Biondi could not begin to field questions about how he would handle the World Championships next year now that he has established himself as one of the best in the world.

“I don’t know what it’s like yet to be the best,” he said. “I don’t have that frame of mind yet.”

And frame of mind is very important to Biondi.

“The mind is a very powerful thing,” he said. “If someone sets his mind and his heart to do something, and that dream is vivid enough, the mind will drive him to do it.

Biondi said that he and his coach, Nort Thornton, had considered the world record a “capability” at this point. But he wasn’t counting on it.

He had been concentrating on the 100 freestyle. Now he’ll go on to work on the 200 freestyle (“I’m interested in pursuing it,” he said) and after that he will turn his attentions to his butterfly.

Like Gross, who holds the world records in the butterfly events and the 200- and 400-meters, Biondi is tall and has an extraordinary wingspan. Biondi is 6-6 and estimates his wingspan at 6-7 1/2.

“I’ve been thinking about facing him for a long time,” Biondi said. “I’m really looking forward to the World Games next summer.”

Biondi is not one to make rash promises, but it is obvious that Gross’ world record in the 200 is within reach. “Considering my times and my improvement--I think so,” he said.

Mark Spitz, who was in the stands to see Biondi swim, saw no point in talking about his potential. “He’s there,” Spitz said. “He’s that good now.”

Asked about Biondi’s stroke, Spitz said: “He has a good stroke. It’s sort of like mine. It’s close to mine--and I’ve never seen anyone before that I thought was close to mine, whatever that means.”

Biondi won the 200 by a good margin, but with Heath second at 1:48.87 and Duffy Dillon third at 1:49.30, the race had the distinction of having three swimmers under 1:50--a first. Craig Oppen, who will be a freshman at UCLA this fall, finished fourth at 1:50.54. That could make for a very impressive 800-meter freestyle relay team in Japan.

Mary Wayte, the Olympic gold medalist at 200 meters last summer, won the event Wednesday in 2:00.56, beating Carrie Steinseifer, who was the Olympic gold medalist at 100 meters.

Wayte said: “Carrie was teasing me that I’m an old lady now. I told her that if Tracy (Caulkins) could be in her prime at 21, I could be, too. I might still have a world record in me--but I didn’t tell her that.”

Wayte is 20. Steinseifer is 17.

The youngsters are a long way from Caulkins’ records in the women’s 400 meter individual medley. The winner Wednesday night was 15-year-old Erika Hansen in 4:48.08. Second was 16-year-old Michele Griglione.

Jeff Kostoff of Industry Hills won the men’s 400-meter individual medley in 4:22,27, a pool record.

The Mission Viejo team won the women’s 800-meter relay to add to its lead in the women’s team totals and its lead in the overall team total. Holmes Lumber of Florida won the men’s relay, though, by more than six seconds. Mission Viejo also leads the men’s team totals.