U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials : Mary T. Meagher Still Fastest in 200 Butterfly

On the seventh anniversary of her world record in the 200-meter butterfly, Mary T. Meagher swam the fastest time in the world this year when she won the title and the right to swim the event in the 1988 Olympic Games with a time of 2 minutes 9.13 seconds Saturday during the Phillips 66/U.S. Swimming Long Course National Championships at the University of Texas Swimming Center.

At the age of 23, Mary T. Meagher can still swim her best event faster than anyone else in the world. But in all these years, she hasn’t been able to match what she did in the summer of 1981, when she was clocked in 2:05.96.

She never thought her record would last this long. She figured she’d break it herself, if no one else could. “I took it for granted that I would keep improving year after year,” she said.

That she could hold steady--stay on top and make three Olympic teams--is quite a feat, even if her times haven’t dropped.

“I’ll never complain with a first-place finish and I’ll never complain with a best time in the world,” Meagher said.

After all, not everyone was so lucky.

John Moffet, an 1984 Olympian, was eliminated days ago. Rick Carey and Carrie Steinseiffer, multiple gold medalists in ‘84, hardly drew notice as they failed to make the team. Same with Jenna Johnson, who swam on a gold-medal relay in ’84. Rowdy Gaines, another ’84 gold medalist, made a flashy attempt here. Pablo Morales broke hearts when he failed in his last bid in the preliminary heats of the men’s 200-meter individual medley Saturday morning.

Jill Sterkel, who had just missed making the Olympic team as an alternate on the 400-meter freestyle relay when she finished seventh instead of sixth in the 100 on the first day of the meet, and who missed again in the 100-meter butterfly Thursday, missed on her last try on the last day when she finished third in the women’s 50-meter freestyle.

The top two finishers make the Olympic team. Angel Myers, who had already won the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly and who had tied Dara Torres’ American record of 25.59 seconds in the preliminary heats, set an American record by winning in 25.40 seconds in the final. Leighann Fetter, a 19-year-old from Louisville, was the surprise second-place finisher in 22.50.

Sterkel, who touched in 22.57, just 7/100s of a second too late, was pulled from the pool by her coach, Richard Quick, who led her away from the pool area where fans and the cameras wouldn’t see such a big, strong woman sobbing in his arms.

Sterkel, coming back from knee surgery at the age of 27, was trying to become the first woman ever to make four Olympic swim teams.

In the men’s 200-meter individual medley, Dave Wharton of USC, who swims for the Foxcatcher club, broke Morales’ American record. Wharton’s 2:00.98 topped Morales’ mark of 2:02.23 and threatened Hungarian Tamas Darnyi’s world record of 2:00.56.

Wharton’s was the fastest time in the world this year. Second-place finisher Bill Stapleton, another Longhorn, turned in the second-fastest time at 2:02.14.

Matt Cetlinski’s 15:05.93 was the fastest time this year in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle. Lars Jorgensen of the Rancho Bernardo Swim Team made the Olympic team when he beat out Scott Brackett of the Mission Bay Makos for second place. Jorgensen’s brother, Dan, who had already made the team in the 400-meter freestyle, finished a distant fourth.

Lars said it was the first time that he had ever beaten his brother in the event, but he said that he didn’t think that his brother, who is also a teammate at USC, had purposely backed off to let him make the team.

In the last event of the meet, Andrea Hayes finished second to Beth Barr, qualifying for the Olympic team on her fourth attempt.

Swimming Notes

Janet Evans of the Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team, who will be swimming three events in Seoul, said Saturday that her coach, Bud McAllister, would have a deck pass so that he could coach her all the way. As of Friday night, all U.S. Coach Richard Quick had promised was that McAllister would be on the training staff through their stay in Hawaii. . . . Quick has called a press conference for Sunday morning and is expected to announce that he will be leaving the University of Texas to become the women’s coach at Stanford. . . . For the record: Tom Jager isn’t the only swimmer who has beaten Matt Biondi in this meet. Troy Dalbey beat him in the 200-meter freestyle. . . . Of the 20 former Olympians trying to make the 1984 team, only 9 were successful. The 11 who did not make this team represented 16 gold medals and 6 silver medals in 1984.