Survivor

Even if Chad Carvin slogs his way through the water at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis this week and the closest he ever gets to Australia is renting a Crocodile Dundee movie, he will not be devastated.

After all, what are these trials compared to his past tribulations?

In 1995, he was training for a shot at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and his chances were so good that his trials appearance seemed a formality. Then, inexplicably, his times got slower. Depressed, he swallowed a handful of sleeping pills and was rushed to the hospital.

There, after recovering from his suicide attempt, doctors found that his poor swimming performances were caused by a life-threatening heart virus. His swimming career, he was told, was probably over.

Six months later, Carvin was back in the pool, too late for Atlanta but well on his way to regaining the form that made him one of the world’s top swimmers.

Olympic dreams returned, a made-for-TV movie was seemingly in the making. Life, though, isn’t so neat.

In 1997, he injured two disks in his back while skateboarding. He missed the world championships and, once again, was told that his swimming career was finished.

But again, six months later, he was back in the pool and on his way to regaining his form.

A painful deja vu.

“Considering all the things that I have been through, what I’m standing up against now kind of pales in comparison,” Carvin, 26, said. “I have been through some pretty tough times and grown a lot. I’m mentally much stronger than I ever was. Training and competing are much easier knowing that I have been through all that.

“I would be extremely disappointed if I didn’t make the team. But life would go on.”

Sure it will. He would just prefer life’s next stop to be in Sydney, Australia. Those travel arrangements are what the Laguna Hills High and Arizona graduate hopes to book at the trials this week, when the top two swimmers in each event qualify for the Olympics.

“I am really ready for this meet,” Carvin said. “I have trained harder than I ever have in my life. I know the performances are there. They are in me. It’s just a matter of getting them out.”

His first exorcism attempt will be today in the 400-meter freestyle. He won that event at the World Short Course Championships in Athens last March. He was locked and loaded for that meet and his performance proved it. He also swam the anchor leg in the 800 freestyle relay, helping set a world record.

His performances in Greece elevated him back to elite status. He enters the trials as a favorite in both the 200 and 400 freestyles.

Of course, his career thus far is a stark reminder that nothing is for certain.

“The past being what it is, I would be the last to say things are looking good,” said Mission Viejo Nadadore Coach Bill Rose, who trains Carvin. “We’ll find out when he swims. But I’ll tell you right now, he has done everything I’ve asked him to do in training. His whole demeanor is better than I have ever seen.”

*

Swimming is fun for Carvin. It wasn’t before the 1996 Olympic trials. His rise in the sport was at light-speed, his fall even quicker.

He finished ninth in the 400 and 1,500 freestyles at the 1992 Olympic trials at age 18 and went away mad that he wasn’t in the top eight to qualify for the finals. He was young and versatile, as dangerous in the 200 as he was in the 1,500. For fun, he entered rough-water ocean swims.

By 1995, he was ranked second in the world in the 200 and 400 freestyles.

But in the fall, Carvin, then at Arizona, began to slip. His performances were poor and a slew of medical tests failed to find the reason.

“Everything was building toward the 1996 trials and my form and feelings were spiraling down hill,” he said. “Everything was out of control. I had no answers to why this was happening.”

His solution was over-the-counter sleeping pills. His roommate found Carvin conscious but groggy. He was rushed to the hospital.

“The phone call came and it was completely out of the blue,” said Judie Carvin, his mother. “Chad had been dealing with everything on his own. We didn’t even know he wasn’t feeling well.”

Said Carvin: “It is something I’m not proud of at all. I didn’t know where else to turn. Everyone handles pressure differently. Unfortunately, that’s how I handled it in that instance.”

Doctors discovered he had cardiomyopathy, a virus that attacks the heart. Carvin greeted the news almost as if he had won a gold medal.

“The minute they diagnosed Chad, I could see a difference in him,” Judie said. “He was almost happy. He said, ‘I’m not crazy. There is something wrong with my heart that they can fix.’ ”

Part of “fixing” his heart meant being immobile for 90 days. Carvin compared it to having a broken arm that needed to be set. His cast was a bed.

There was little to do, except read his fan mail. President Clinton sent him a get-well card, as did Tom Hanks.

“When 90 days were up, the doctor said it was OK for Chad to take a little bike ride,” Judie said. “He put on his gear and raced out the door. He was gone an hour and a half and I was thinking he had a heart attack somewhere. He finally got back and said he’d been for a little ride around town. I asked him what a ‘little ride’ was and he said, ‘About 24 miles.’ Then he went to the pool for a swim. When he got out, he went and shot baskets. I didn’t think either of us were going to live until the doctor’s appointment.

“The next day, the doctor asked Chad if he went for a bike ride. Chad said, ‘Yes,’ and I said, ‘That wasn’t the right question. Ask him how far.’ When Chad told him, the doctor turned to this group of medical students that were with him and said, ‘This is a world-class athlete.’ ”

Carvin took a stress test the day after that. He passed with an off-the-chart performance, which surprises no one who knows him.

“Chad has to win at everything,” his mother said. “He’s brutal on the pingpong table. He’s brutal on the basketball court. He’s brutal on the skateboard. He’s always out there to win.”

Yet, as driven as Carvin is, he avoided training in the pool.

“I really didn’t want to swim,” he said. “I just wanted to move on with my life and be able to be active. A month later, I did finally show up at the pool, but it wasn’t to train. I just got in, swam a few laps, then got out.

“I wasn’t sure that’s what I wanted to do. I had worked so hard and so long, to come up short at the very end in 1996. Obviously, a part of me was afraid of that.”

That changed the more he went to the pool. He wasn’t training. He was just staying fit.

His competitive nature took over from there.

He won the 200, 400 and 1,500 freestyles at the 1997 U.S. spring nationals. By the end of the year, he ranked among the best in the world--second in the 800 and 1,500 freestyles, third in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 400 freestyle.

“That’s just the way Chad is,” Judie Carvin said. “When he was allowed to ride his bike after his heart condition, he started talking about making the Olympic bicycle team. He decided he wanted to go back to swimming. Otherwise, we’d be talking today about him going to the Olympics as a bicyclist.”

Of course, his career was again written off in 1997, after the skateboard accident. The injury forced him to miss the 1997 World Championships.

Again complete rest was prescribed. But by June 1998 he was back.

“He’s like the eighth wonder of the world,” Judie said.

*

Carvin has told his story so many times he can answer the questions before they are asked. He also shares it with groups, hoping to make a difference.

“I think my story is pretty inspirational for a lot of people and if it can help people, I’m definitely all for that,” he said.

There is a bit of self-improvement in it as well.

“Every time I share a little piece of myself, it only helps remind me what I’ve been through and motivates me,” he said. “Of course, always in the back of my mind, I think that something else could happen. Doubt and fear are things everyone has to deal with. I’ve doubted myself many times. But I’ve been able to conquer all of that. I’m prepared to conquer anything that comes up.”

What arises this week at the trials is to be seen. But those who know Carvin will tell you the results are already in.

Said Rose: “He wins at surviving.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

U.S. Olympic Trials

Today’s schedule:

8 a.m. EVENTS

* Women’s 400-meter individual medley qualifying

* Men’s 400 freestyle qualifying

* Women’s 100 butterfly qualifying

* Men’s 100 breaststroke qualifying

5 p.m. EVENTS

* Women’s 400 individual medley final

* Men’s 400 freestyle final

* Women’s 100 butterfly semifinals

* Men’s 100 breaststroke semifinals

U.S. SWIMMING TRIALS

WHERE

Indianapolis

WHEN

Today through

Aug. 16

ALSO

Past performances

mean nothing

at trials. Page 7