SWIMMING MEET OF CHAMPIONS : Shaw Feels Good About Her Ability to Finish Fourth

In 1987, Amy Shaw set the American record in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Pan Pacific games. Her goals were lofty then.

In 1988, Shaw watched the Olympics from a hospital bed in Mission Viejo. Her goals were a little lower. All she wanted was to be able to swim competitively again.

In 1990, Shaw is back--maybe not as strong as she once was, but she’s getting there.

“Right now, it’s like I’ve started at the bottom again,” she said. “I think a lot of people have forgotten what I’ve done in the past. That’s good, because it gives me a challenge again. I want to get back to where I was.”

Shaw continued her comeback by finishing fourth in the 400-meter individual medley at the Swim Meet of Champions Friday at the Marguerite Recreation Center in Mission Viejo.

True, her time of 4 minutes 54.26 seconds was more than six seconds slower than Janet Evans, who won in 4:48.01. But, for Shaw, it was something to build on.

“It is really exciting to be back swimming at this level,” Shaw said. “It seems like a miracle that all my injury problems are over.”

Shaw said her goal is to qualify for the U.S. World Championship team. She will swim the 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke at the trials in August.

Shaw still holds the American record in the breaststroke of 2:29.58.

There was a time when Shaw wasn’t sure if she would ever get a chance to swim the event again. She injured her right knee in the spring of 1988 and swam poorly in the Olympic trials that summer.

In September, she underwent surgery. However, she tried to come back too soon and aggravated the knee again. She swam little during the next four months and didn’t swim the breaststroke at all for the next year.

Shaw returned to competitive swimming in the spring of 1989 but concentrated on the freestyle events, which are less stressful on the knee.

At the end of last summer, Shaw got away from swimming entirely. She continued to rest when she entered the University of Texas in the fall.

“It give me a chance to let the knee heal,” said Shaw, a freshman.

Shaw, a graduate of Mission Viejo High School, swam for the Longhorns last season and, by the end of the season, her knee was 100%. She began swimming the breaststroke again last winter.

“I guess the ironic thing about the injury was it made me better in the individual medley,” Shaw said. “Because I couldn’t swim the breaststroke, I concentrated on my other strokes.”

She got off to a slow start Friday in the 400 IM but moved up from seventh to fourth during the last 200 yards.

Evans won the race going away, finishing more than three seconds ahead of Summer Sanders.

It was the second victory of the meet for Evans, who won the 800 freestyle on Thursday. She also finished sixth in 100 backstroke on Friday.

Regina Dittman was the first East German to win a race in the meet. Dittman finished first in the women’s 100 meter freestyle with a time of 57.33.

Thilo Haase of East Germany was also a winner, taking the men’s 100 butterfly with a time of 55.73.

Artur Wojdat won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.41.

It was the second victory of the meet for Wojdat, a member of Poland’s 1988 Olympic team. He won the 800 freestyle on Thursday.