Carvin Comes Back With Two Victories

Chad Carvin of Laguna Hills made a successful return to swimming Friday at the U.S. National Swimming Championships.

Carvin, 22, the U.S. record holder in the 1,000-meter freestyle, won the 200-meter freestyle in 1 minute 50.42 seconds. He also won the 400-meter individual medley in 4:21.77.

It was his sixth and seventh national titles in his first major swim meet since 1995.

Carvin was ranked second in the world in 1996 in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events. Three months before the ’96 Olympic trials, Carvin was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a low-grade virus that attacks the heart muscles.

Carvin had to stop training for 90 days, wiping out any chance of making the Olympic team. He was favored to make the team.

“I feel like I am the luckiest person alive,” Carvin said.

The five-day national championship meet is his first national swimming championship since being told that he might never swim again.

“I was prepared to deal with it even if I couldn’t come back,” Carvin said. “I am just happy everything worked out the way it did. I feel reborn.”

Among Orange County participants, Philippe Demers, a senior at Santa Margarita High, was fourth in the 200 freestyle in 1:53.36 and Mission Viejo’s Peter Florcyzk was fourth in the 400 individual medley in 4:30.35.