SWIMMING / OLYMPIC SENDOFF MEET : Hudepohl Finds That He Can Beat Wojdat

U.S. Olympian Ron Karnaugh considered the consequences of a subpar performance in his last race before the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

“I’d be bummed out,” he said. “The last three weeks is a mind game. That’s what I’d be thinking about.”

Fortunately for Karnaugh and Olympic teammates Joe Hudepohl, Pablo Morales, Crissy Ahmann-Leighton and Nelson Diebel, their final efforts Sunday in the Olympic sendoff meet put them in a positive frame of mind for the Games in Spain.

Karnaugh, Hudepohl and Morales set meet records in their specialties on the last day of competition at the Mission Viejo International Swimming Complex.

In the most competitive race of the meet, Hudepohl battled stroke for stroke with Polish Olympian Artur Wojdat and won the 200-meter freestyle in 1 minute 50.15 seconds.

At the first turn, Wojdat, 24, led Hudepohl, the 18-year-old from Cincinnati, by 0.02 seconds. By the halfway mark, Hudepohl crept ahead by 0.21, but Wojdat surged into and out of the turn to pull even.

With synchronized strokes, the pair went into the final turn with Hudepohl leading by 0.01. Gamely, Hudepohl strained ahead at the midpoint of the last lap, but with five meters left, Wojdat made a charge.

“I just put my head down,” Hudepohl said.

When he lifted it up, the scoreboard displayed a No. 1 next to his name and a 0.06 margin of victory, which eclipsed Wojdat’s 1988 record of 1:50.65.

“I’m pleased because I was trying to swim my own race,” Hudepohl said. “That’s the one thing I gotta learn before I go to Barcelona. I didn’t swim my own race in the 100 (freestyle).”

Not only was Hudepohl’s time his fastest unrested and unshaved, he turned the tables on Wojdat, who defeated him last weekend at the Santa Clara International.

“That was one of the big things my coach (Jack Simon) talked about,” Hudepohl said, “setting myself up, not only to go faster but to beat him (Wojdat), so I know I can beat him.”

Morales, 27, of Stanford, won the 100 butterfly with a 54.46-second time, which broke his 1988 meet record of 55.16.

With his trademark speed, Morales started fast, posting a 25.17 in the first 50. Down the stretch, he tired, painfully pulling through the last 10 meters while the field tried to close in.

When asked if it hurt, Morales said: “It usually does. It’s never a surprise to me when the last 10 meters come.”

Morales’ time was only 0.41 off his trials time, a good indication of improvement, considering that he was rested and shaved for the trials.

“I’ve suspected all along that I’ve made improvement, and races like this reaffirm that,” Morales said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be faster in the Games, but certainly it gives me confidence. I’m holding my stroke a lot better, and good things are happening to me.”

Karnaugh, who trains with the host team, said much the same after leaving fellow Olympian Eric Namesnik behind on the backstroke segment to win the 200 individual medley in 2:03.63, well under his 1988 meet record of 2:04.16.

Ahmann Leighton, the second-fastest female 100 butterflier in history, won that race in 1:01.35, and Diebel, the American record-holder in the 100 breaststroke, prevailed in his specialty in 1:04.26.