Swim Meet of Champions : The Victory for Shaw Is Competing

Amy Shaw felt a bit uncomfortable Sunday at the Mission Viejo International Swim Meet of Champions.

It was nothing physical. Her left knee, the one that hampered her performance at the Olympic trials a year ago, is completely healed now.

What made Shaw uneasy was the feeling of swimming in a fish bowl.

“I felt like everyone was watching me to see how I would do,” Shaw said. “It made me a little nervous.”

Shaw, who swims for the Mission Viejo Nadadores, wasn’t paranoid Sunday at the Marguerite Recreation Center. Some people were watching closely and wondering.

It was the first time that Shaw had competed in the 200-meter breaststroke, or any breaststroke for that matter, since last July.

Back then she was considered the top breaststroke swimmer in the United States, but that was before a series of injuries to her left leg.

Now, nearly a year later, Shaw is slowly working herself back into the swim of things.

Shaw swam the race twice Sunday. She missed making the championship final in the morning by a little more than a second. She then won the consolation final with a time of 2 minutes 44.98 seconds.

It was far off her American record of 2:29.58, set in 1987, but Shaw wasn’t disappointed.

“I really had no expectations going into the race,” Shaw said. “I wasn’t in shape to swim the breaststroke. I’m just happy to be swimming it again.”

Shaw first hurt her knee in the summer of 1987. She continued to swim, but changed her stroke--causing an injury to her groin.

She barely trained for the Olympic trials, but still tried to make the United States team. She finished a distant seventh.

In September, she underwent arthroscopic surgery on the knee and watched the 200 breaststroke at Seoul from her hospital bed.

Shaw began swimming the breaststroke again in February, but didn’t start training for a race until two weeks ago.

However, she showed no signs of fatigue. In the consolation final, she was fourth after the first 100 meters, but closed quickly and took the lead in the last 50 meters.

Vanessa Hein of the Arizona Sports Ranch was second, finishing more than a second behind at 2:46.07.

“I guess I haven’t forgotten how to swim this race,” Shaw said. “I actually felt pretty good for not really training too long for this. I thought it would feel like a much longer race.”

Shaw also finished second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:22.11. Janet Evans won the race with a time of 2:19.51.

But Shaw was happier with her performance in the breaststroke. “The knee felt fine, it didn’t hurt at all,” she said.

Shaw still has a long way to go, and knows it. She and her coach, Terry Stoddard, will decide whether to swim the breaststroke at the U.S. Long Course National championships in July.

“We’ll have to see how she swims at the Santa Clara meet (in early July),” Stoddard said. “We’re going to crawl before we walk and walk before we run. We’re not taking any chances.”

Notes

Janet Evans, who swims for the Fullerton Aquatics, won two races on Sunday. Besides the 200 individual medley, she also won the 200 freestyle (2:02.72). During the meet, Evans won six individual events. Last year, she won seven. . . . Artur Wojdat of the Nadadores won four races, including the 100 freestyle on Sunday (51.18).