Larsen Marks Comeback With 9th-Place Swim in U.S. Trials

Alexis Larsen completed her comeback from thyroid surgery with a ninth-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle Tuesday in the U.S. Olympic swimming trials at the Indiana University Natatorium.

Larsen, of Calabasas-based CLASS Aquatics, clocked 4 minutes 18.60 seconds. That is her second-best time, topped only by the 4:16.89 she recorded in the U.S. Olympic Festival last July at USC.

“I was real happy with her time,” CLASS Coach Bud McAllister said. “She looked really good. The 400 is a tough event for her because she doesn’t always have the speed, although she always has the endurance.”

McAllister believes that Larsen will make the final field of eight for tonight’s 800 freestyle, as well as the 1,500, which will be contested Saturday.

The 1,500 is not an Olympic event, but it is being contested here because the meet also serves as the spring national championships.

Larsen, 15, lost training time in the fall, the critical time for long-distance conditioning, because of a thyroid problem. A benign tumor was found in her thyroid gland and surgery was performed in late August.

“At first, it was hard for me to move my head,” Larsen said, referring to the incision in her neck.

Once Larsen’s neck began to heal, doctors struggled to determine the proper dosage of thyroid medicine. Larsen was required to have her blood tested every two to three weeks as her body tried to adapt to various dosages.

In December, Larsen began to train consistently, and by January she had regained some of her confidence.

“I kind of got discouraged some times swimming slowly and thinking it was me (instead of the medicine),” Larsen said. “But right now, I’m feeling great.”

In the only other Tuesday event involving a local swimmer, Jason Stelle of CLASS Aquatics and USC placed third in the consolation final of the 200 backstroke.

Stelle, 19, recorded a 2:05.57 in the final. The Westlake Village swimmer posted a 2:03.74 in the preliminaries, which placed him 15th.