Vendt Goes Distance for Record

His love of swimming’s ugly-duckling event, the 1,500-meter freestyle, grew out of a sense of sports survival. Erik Vendt was not even a teenager when he looked around and saw the writing on the pool deck.

“I was 12 and realized I couldn’t do anything else,” Vendt said, smiling.

Vendt followed his heart and seven years later he broke the U.S. record, becoming the first American swimmer to go under 15 minutes in the 1,500. On Wednesday, the final day of the Olympic trials, Vendt won the last event, in 14 minutes 59.11 seconds. George DiCarlo held the record, of 15:01.51, for 16 years.

“It feels great to win the race and set the American record in the same race,” Vendt said. “Those have been my goals ever since I started swimming the mile when I was 12. To get both goals in the same race is two dreams come true.”

And so, the kid from North Easton, Mass., who joked about not being able to do anything else in the pool, will be heading to the Olympics in two individual events, the 1,500 and the 400 individual medley.

His stirring performance was the ninth U.S. record of the trials. No world records were broken. Still, the performances were an improvement over the ’96 trials, in which no national marks were shattered.

Vendt, who will be a sophomore at USC, may be self-effacing, but he stole the final night with his tenacious effort. Four of his last five 100 splits were under a minute.

In the only other final, 33-year-old Dara Torres won the 50 freestyle in a trials record of 24.90. Torres, who came out of a seven-year retirement last year, has qualified in three individual events and a relay.

The other comeback story in the 50 was defending Olympic champion Amy Van Dyken, who is returning from shoulder surgery. Van Dyken, as usual, tried something to psyche out her chief opponent, spitting in Torres’ lane just before the race. It didn’t work as Van Dyken finished second in 24.99.

Torres downplayed the ploy, which has quickly gone from quirky to tired.

“I’m upset with my times, but I’m glad to finally get a win,” Torres said.

Said Van Dyken: “I always spit in Dara’s lane. It’s nothing against her. I think she got really upset the first time because she hadn’t swum against me yet. I’ve got nothing but love for you when I spit on you. I don’t know if she took that well.”

Then Vendt stepped up to the blocks. He knew people figured the 1,500 was the undercard. But he kept people from flooding for the exits at Indiana University’s Natatorium, when it became obvious he was taking on DiCarlo’s record.

“‘At the 1,100 mark, I could hear the crowd going crazy,” Vendt said. “I knew I was on pace for something. I figured the American record. I know most of the fans came here to see Dara swim the 50. We were able to put on a good show.”

Mark Schubert, Vendt’s coach at USC, was thrilled.

“I just have to hand it to him. He’s learned how to be patient and not get too excited in the race. He’s a very emotional kid,” he said.

Schubert immediately learned of Vendt’s desire for the 1,500 the first time he walked into his living room on a recruiting trip.

“You just don’t hear this very often, before I could start talking, the first thing he said was, ‘Coach, all I want to do is train for the 1,500,’ ” Schubert said. “This is the event that’s in his heart, and I promised him we’d do that.”

Another coach who will be on the Olympic staff, Jon Urbanchek of Michigan, attempted to bring Vendt to Ann Arbor.

“I recruited him the hardest I ever have,” Urbanchek said. “I’m a big fan of Erik Vendt. He loves the pain. He’s perfect for distance swimming.”

Vendt immediately predicted that Chris Thompson, who was second in 15:09.16, would break the 15-minute barrier, saying: “It’s going to open the door for a lot of people.”

The 1,500 may be the distance that gets the least respect in the United States. That won’t be a problem at the Olympics. Australians revere the event. Vendt’s immense challenge in Sydney will be facing Aussies Grant Hackett and world-record holder and icon Kieren Perkins.

“I love being the underdog,” said Vendt, who has studied race footage of past U.S. distance stars.

“That’s what I thrive on.”

Schubert thinks that Vendt’s performance will help alter the American mind-set regarding the 1,500.

“I think it puts this country in a whole different psychological level,” he said. “You wait this long--Brian Goodell in 1976 went 15:02--to break 15 minutes. This will really help us get on track to be where we need to be in this event.”

Vendt was tremendously respectful of Perkins and Hackett. But finally, on the last day of the trials, he aimed some smack-talk Down Under.

“We’ve been criticized by all the other countries,” he said of the U.S. distance swimmers. “The Aussies called us babies and said we don’t work hard enough. They have got to take us seriously because if they don’t we’ll surprise people.”