Mission Viejo Swim Meet of Champions : Evans, 16, and Neilson-Bell, 32, Stay on Course

Janet Evans, America’s 16-year-old can’t-miss kid, twice dived into the pool during the Mission Viejo Swim Meet of Champions Friday night and twice pulled herself out a winner.

Between Evans’ victories, in the 400-meter individual medley (4:45.45) and the 200-meter butterfly (2:16.77), a woman named Sandy Neilson-Bell, who knows a thing or two about being a 16-year-old swim star, turned a few heads when she placed second in the 100-meter freestyle (58.28), behind Aimee Berzins (57.75).

Which may mean Evans and Neilson-Bell will be U.S. teammates at the Olympic Games in September. That would be nice, considering all they have in common: World records, world press coverage, big grins when they talk.

They even felt the same way about the meet at the Mission Viejo International Swim Complex, saying they considered it more fun than competition, a chance to break from training.

About all that separates Janet Evans from Sandy Neilson-Bell is nearly a lifetime--Evans’.

In 1972, a 16-year-old girl named Sandy Neilson was swimming on U.S. Olympic champion sprint relay teams--4x100 meter freestyle and 4x100 meter medley relay--and setting world records in each event.

Evans had celebrated her first birthday two days earlier. Three years later, Evans would take up swimming herself. What followed, about 12 years later, were world records in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle.

For a good portion of those 12 years, Neilson-Bell, 32, had abandoned her international swim career because that’s what people said she should do.

“I was 16 and I was told I had done it all,” she said. “They said, ‘That’s it.’ I believed it, that is, until I met Keith.”

Keith is Keith Bell, her husband and coach. They met in a pool in 1984. It was Keith who convinced Sandy that she could compete with swimmers much younger.

“I think she believed it all the time, but so many people told her it couldn’t be done,” he said. “When I finally came around and said I thought she could still do it, she was all ready to go.”

Neilson-Bell, who lives in El Monte, is the oldest woman ever to hold a top-25 ranking. That’s in the 50-meter freestyle. She’s hoping to become the oldest member of the U.S. swim team.

“I get a lot of encouragement from the younger kids,” she said. “Maybe they see themselves in 10 years when they look at me and they see there’s hope.”

That includes Evans who said Neilson-Bell serves as sort of an “inspiration” to the younger swimmers.

Inspiration is something Evans needs plenty of these days to deal with an ever increasing crush of attention. Friday, photographers from two national magaizines followed her every step and stroke. Today, a network television outfit will be by. And always, the reporters.

“I think I’m handling it pretty well,” she said. “I know it’s a by-product of my success, so you have to deal with it.”

Evans said U.S. swim team officials had placed a July 15 deadline on all press interviews with her.

“I have to admit, I’ll be happy when July 15 gets here,” she said.

Jerry Frentsos was Friday’s other double winner, taking the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter backstroke.

Less than three weeks ago, Frentsos swam 20 1,000-meter medleys “just to see if I could do it.”

What one person at poolside called stupid, another, Chuck Warner, Frentsos’ coach, called smart, explaining that the 20,000-meter trek did a lot to improve Frentsos’ confidence.

“He had tried something like it in the fall and went 13,000-meters,” Warner said. “And he had to be pushed to do that. He was able to do the 20,000 rather easily. That’s got to give him a bit of an edge when he’s in the water.”

Warner said he believes Frentsos could have gone beyond 20,000 meters, but that he decided to stop 4 hours 45 minutes into the swim because “we were all getting pretty bored.”