Kizierowski Churns With Chips on Line

It was apparent during morning preliminaries on the second day of the Swim Meet of Champions that Bart Kizierowski of the Mission Viejo Nadadores was swimming with a purpose.

“Whomever is named the male or female swimmer of the meet will win a laptop computer,” Nadadores Coach Bill Rose said. “Bart is a big computer bug so this prize is definitely an enticement.”

So with a laptop as the carrot and the Olympic Games just around the corner, motivation would not be a problem for Kizierowski.

Entered in nine events at the four-day meet, the Polish Olympic team member had qualified Friday for finals in three events: the 100-meter freestyle, the 200 butterfly and the 200 backstroke.

But Kizierowski also was busy with finals on his last day of school at Mission Viejo High. So he swam in prelims in the mornings, returned to school for tests, then went back to the pool for the final events in the late afternoon.

His prelim time of 52.18 seconds in the 100 free was particularly impressive, considering his time was almost two seconds faster than U.S. Olympic team member Gary Hall of the Phoenix Swim Club and about 0.2 seconds behind the top-seeded Brad Schumacher, who will be swimming on the U.S. Olympic team’s 400 and 800 relay teams.

“It’s not like Bart is swimming against some bad swimmers,” Rose said. “Considering the talent that is here, I’m quite pleased with those times.”

In the finals, Kizierowski’s time in the 100 free wasn’t that bad; he dropped to a 52.10 and finished fourth. But in his other two races, the day’s fast pace seemed to finally catch up with him.

“I had a very busy day,” Kizierowski said. “I had to go to school and finish my finals. But I couldn’t miss this meet. Yes, I am very tired right now.”

He placed last in the 200 fly (2:14.12) and sixth in the 200 back (2:09.43.

“That’s a very hard race,” Kizierowski said after the 200 fly. “I guess I tried to do too many things today.”

Rose, though, was pleased with Kizierowski’s performances.

“We’re stepping up things around here and our plan was to make this meet a workout as well,” Rose said. “So with Bart’s events he swam today and his workout he did between, he probably got in about 12,000 yards today.”

As for Kizierowski, who will be swimming the 50 and 100 freestyles in Atlanta, he’s ready for Rose’s push.

“The Olympics are almost here. I want to be ready and I think my training schedule is right where I want it to be,” Kizierowski said.

And what does he have in store for today?

“I have the 50 and 200 free and I think the 400 individual medley,” he said, smiling. “But I’ll be OK. I have no test and it would really be nice to win that computer.”

Notes

UC Santa Barbara’s Jason Lezak, a graduate of Irvine High, got the chance to go up against Gary Hall, the nation’s best sprinter, in the consolation finals of the 100 freestyle. Hall edged Lezak, finishing fifth in 53.68. Lezak was sixth (53.96) . . . Brad Bridgewater of the Trojan Swim Club, set a meet record in the 200 back, swimming a 2:01.36 and breaking former Woodbridge star Derya Buyukuncu’s 1994 record. Kizierowski’s Olympic teammate, Bart Sikora, who also trains with the Nadadores, finished third in the 200 back (2:04.30).