Mission Viejo’s Jacob Takes Fifth in 200 Freestyle

Lisa Jacob led the Orange County contingent at the U.S. Olympic trials Monday with a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle.

Jacob, 17, of the Mission Viejo Nadadores, clocked a 2:01.27 in the finals, slightly slower than the career-best 2:00.88 she recorded in the preliminaries.

Jacob was third after the preliminaries behind Nicole Haislett and Jenny Thompson, who set a world record in the 100 freestyle Sunday.

In the finals, she trailed Haislett (1:58.65), Thompson (1:59.98), Whitney Hedgepeth (2:00.86) and Sarah D. Anderson (2:01.01).

The top two finishers in each event earn berths on the U.S. Olympic team.

“I wanted to break two minutes and make the Olympic team,” Jacob said. “I probably could have gone out (on the first 100) faster.”

When asked if that was her only mistake, Jacob laughed, and said: “I could have come back faster, too.”

Jacob’s time in the preliminaries moved her from 42nd to 20th on the U.S. list of all-time fastest times.

Nadadores Coach Terry Stoddard said the speed Jacob showed in the shorter event bodes well for her specialties, the 800 freestyle on Thursday and today’s 400 freestyle.

Placentia’s Janet Evans, who trains at Texas Aquatics with former Mission Viejo Coach Mark Schubert, placed seventh in 2:02.37. Evans’ best time is 2:00.27.

Kathy Deibler of Mission Viejo finished 22nd in the 200 freestyle with a 2:04.92, and Chris Gally of the Nadadores was 21st in the men’s 100 butterfly in 55.46.