Hyman Breaks Meagher’s 14-Year-Old Record

Misty Hyman, the Stanford-bound standout from Phoenix, set a pool record in the 100-meter butterfly Sunday, breaking a record set by Mary T. Meagher in 1983.

Hyman, 18, who set the record in the finals of the 100 fly on the last day of the Swim Meet of Champions at the Marguerite International Swim Center, won in 59.25 seconds, .03 faster than Meagher’s time. Hyman was pushed Sunday by a late charging Jenny Thompson of Stanford.

“The last thing on my mind was breaking Mary T’s record,” Hyman said. “Jenny and I have gone back and forth in this race so many times before, I knew it was going to be a tough race. I must have swum the race 40 times in my head before it started.”

Thompson, a gold-medal winner in the 1992 Olympics and a member of the 1996 free relay team that won gold in Atlanta, finished in 59.37.

“I knew she was right there with me near the end. I could see her splashes next to me when we got near the end,” Hyman said. “I’m just glad I was able to hold her off. And the time--it’s great.”

A key to Hyman’s victory came at the start. With an unorthodox “fish kick,” which carries her on her side underwater for about 30 meters, Hyman usually comes up about half a body length ahead of the other competitors. Sunday was no exception.

“The fish kick is something my coach and I developed,” Hyman said. “My coach, Bob Gillett, actually got the idea for the fish kick from an article he read about an MIT study on how fish swim. The study was based on a mechanical fish and how it can be used by the military. It’s kind of technical, as far as distance per stroke and stuff like that, but it’s been a big factor in my races for the last year.”

In the 100 backstroke, Hyman finished second to B.J. Bedford, who also set a meet record with a time of 1:02.88. Bedford, who was swimming unattached, broke Linda Jezek’s record of 1:03.06. Bedford also won the 200 individual medley.

Jessamyn Miller, a junior at Mater Dei who trains with the Los Caballeros Swim Club in Fountain Valley, won the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.66.

Miller, as well as most of the swimmers who competed in the four-day meet, next will compete in two weeks in the Janet Evans Invitational at USC.

Steve West of Irvine Novaquatics, who just missed making the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, won the 100 breaststroke (1:03.95). West, 25, finished almost two seconds ahead of second-place finisher David Denniston of Greenwood Tiger Sharks (Colo.).

In other men’s events, Sabir Muhammad of the Santa Clara Swim Club, was impressive in the finals of the 100 fly, coming back from a preliminary swim of 57.51 to win in 56.38. Bart Kizierowski, a former Mission Viejo High standout who is training with the Nadadores, finished in third (56.67).

Trojan Swim Club’s Lenny Krazelburg continued to demonstrate his backstroke prowess, again beating his teammate and 1996 Olympic gold-medalist Brad Bridgewater. This time, however, the event was the 100 back, with Krazelburg winning by more than a second in 56.75.

Former Laguna Hills High standout Chad Carvin, whose only event Sunday was the 1,500 freestyle, finished second in 15:48.79. Ryk Neethling, a world-ranked distance swimmer who along with Carvin trains with Hillenbrand Aquatics in Arizona, won in 15:39.91. Carvin went on to win the men’s swimmer of the meet award.

Courtney Ellis of Mill Creek (Calif.) Swim Team, won the women’s event in 17:10.12.

Notes

In the men’s 400 medley relay, the Santa Clara Swim Club won the event in 3:53.22. Novaquatics was second (3:57.20) followed by Trojan in 3:59.02.

The Trojan women won the 400 medley relay in 4:25.82. Santa Clara took second (4:27.06) and Nova was third (4:33.39).

The Trojan men won the team competition with 525 points. Mission Viejo was second (390) and Santa Clara third (362). The Trojans also won the women’s title with 437 points. Santa Clara was third (395) and Hillenbrand third (255).

Olympian Amanda Beard, who trains with Novaquatics, was absent from the meet because she is in Japan, where she was invited for an induction ceremony for an Asian Aquatic Museum, said her coach, Dave Salo.