SWIMMING AND DIVING / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS : Disqualification Slows U.S. Team

The expected U.S. domination of the World Swimming Championships is off to a slow start with one gold medal after the first five races, and the biggest disappointment was self-inflicted.

Nicole Haislett, a 17-year-old from St. Petersburg, Fla., left almost a 10th of a second too soon on her leg of the women’s 800-meter freestyle relay Monday.

The apparent gold medal for the United States turned to a disqualification and Germany was declared the winner.

“The whole time I was swimming, I thought I had broken,” Haislett said. “Obviously, I did.”

The disqualification in an event in which they were fastest in the world by almost two seconds last year capped a bittersweet night for the Americans. Haislett was at both ends.

Haislett won the first U.S. gold medal of the meet in the 100 freestyle, overtaking Catherine Plewinski of France in an American-record 55.17.

But after Norbert Rozsa, a Hungarian ranked 22nd in the world, set a world record in the 100 breaststroke of 1:01.45 seconds, things turned sour for the Americans.

A long-awaited American rematch of last summer’s Goodwill Games final in the 400 individual medley between top-ranked Summer Sanders and Olympic champion Janet Evans fizzled. Sanders, leading each of the first three legs, fell apart in the final 200 meters, and she and Evans looked beat as they came in third and fourth behind winner Lin Li of China in 4:41.45 and Australian Hayley Lewis .01 seconds slower.

China picked up its second women’s diving gold medal, with Olympic champion Gao Min winning the 1-meter springboard over American Wendy Lucero.

The United States took silver in solo synchronized swimming, too, with Sylvie Frechette of Canada beating archrival Kristen Babb by five points.

Sanders led Lin by .12 seconds at the start of the final leg of the medley. She finished well behind in 4:43.41 and Evans in 4:46.05.

In the relay, Evans took over from Trina Radke trailing Germany’s Stephanie Ortwig .83 seconds. Tired from morning heats and the final in the medley, the Olympic champion caught Ortwig about 10 meters from the final turn and came home in 8:01.63.

“Swimming anchor is always my favorite because I have to catch the other girls,” Evans said.

She caught them, all right, but the cameras caught Haislett, who declined interviews but was described as “devastated” by U.S. swimming spokesman Jeff Dimond.

In the night’s other race, the men’s 200 freestyle, was won by world record-holder Giorgio Lamberti of Italy in a meet-record 1:47.27. American Doug Gjertsen led qualifiers but finished last, in 1:50.54.