Sandeno Has Her Health, and a Win

A healthy, and focused, Kaitlin Sandeno hit the water Thursday. There was not much doubt about what would follow.

Sandeno successfully defended her 800-meter freestyle title in the Janet Evans Invitational at USC. But it wasn’t the victory that was important, it was the message.

“There are only 25 or 26 days left until the Olympic trials, so you can come here and show people what you’re made of,” said Sandeno, who had a time of 8 minutes 38.66 seconds.

Over and over again.

Sandeno will swim seven events in the meet, her last competition before the trials, which are Aug. 9-16 in Indianapolis. Besides the 800 freestyle, she will swim in the 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley.

“I wanted to have a great 800 to get the weekend off to a good start,” said Sandeno, who attends El Toro High. “I’m going to be extremely busy here the next few days--six more events.”

Sandeno is up to it. She no longer has the nagging pain from tendinitis in her left shoulder, which forced her to miss eight weeks of training in February and March.

There was no pain, but plenty of gain Thursday.

Her time in the 800 was 10 seconds better than she swam at the Swim Meet of Champions in early June. It was also only two seconds off her time at the U.S. Nationals in March.

“We were very, very happy to be under 8:40,” said Vic Riggs, Sandeno’s co-coach. “This was excellent.”

Sandeno took control of the race after 250 meters. She was barely challenged the rest of the way. Claudia Poll of Costa Rica finished second in 8:40.70.

“Once you get the lead, you get really excited,” Sandeno said. “You go, ‘OK, time to pull your fastest.’ I was very happy with my race. My stroke was really good and I didn’t let up.”

Sandeno will swim the 400 and 800 freestyle, 200 butterfly and 400 IM at the trials. She has qualified in seven events. She was ranked seventh in the world in the 400 freestyle and 400 IM in 1999. In fact, it was her strong performances last year that, in part, brought her pain. Riggs said the tendinitis was caused by extensive training and a growth spurt. By February, the decision was made to shut her down.

“It was too important a year to mess around,” Riggs said.

By March, Sandeno was swimming again, and was even able to defend her 400 IM title at the U.S. championships. Sandeno still has therapy once a week, but she has been pain-free since late April.

“They found that her chest muscles were stronger than her back muscles,” Riggs said. “She’s more vertical now.”

FAMILIAR FACE

Ryk Neethling of South Africa won the men’s 800 freestyle with a time of 8:06.48, edging USC’s Erik Vendt. The two are hardly strangers; Neethling attends Arizona. Vendt finished second with a time of 8:08.09.

“He’s 6 feet 4 and that was the difference,” the 5-10 Vendt said. “I need to grow a couple more inches in case I face him in the Olympics.”

The two have competed each other at the NCAA meet, with Neethling winning.

“We’re friends, but we didn’t have a lot to say to each other today,” Neethling said. “After the [Olympics] we’ll catch up. Right now, we’ve got business to take care of.”

Mission Viejo’s Juan Veloz finished fifth in 8:17.05. He already has qualified for Mexico’s Olympic team in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM.

Veloz has never been homesick; still, he has been away from his parents’ home in Mexico City for most of three years. The payoff is coming--the Olympics.

“I was able to learn so much under Coach [Bill] Rose,” Veloz said. “Now it’s time to get ready.”

After the Games, Veloz will return to Mexico City for two months, then start at Arizona in the spring. He hasn’t been home since December, when he spent two weeks during Christmastime.