Thompson Shows She’s Still Strong

Jenny Thompson said she doesn’t feel the swimming community has forgotten about her.

With her performance Friday night in the Janet Evans Invitational at USC, Thompson made sure it won’t.

Thompson, 27, who attended Stanford, won the 100-meter freestyle in 54.27 seconds and improved her eight-year-old American record by 0.21 seconds.

“I think you’ll see more good swims from me,” Thompson said. “It makes me feel really confident and positive about the next four weeks. I have a completely different mind-set. But I didn’t go in [to the race] thinking of beating my American record.”

In another race that had the crowd cheering, 16-year-old Aaron Peirsol of Irvine upset Lenny Krayzelburg to win the 200 backstroke in 1:59.01.

Krayzelburg, the world-record holder in both Olympic backstroke events, had not lost a race in the 200 in more than two years.

Peirsol, who become the youngest man to break two minutes last year, won Friday in 1:59.01. Krayzelburg, 24, finished second in 1:59.34 and was leading most of the race but Peirsol overtook him in the final 15 meters.

Former Trojan and 1996 Olympic champion, Brad Bridgewater was sixth.

“I saw Aaron pass me in and I couldn’t do anything. My arms were so tired,” Krayzelburg said. “My body just tightened up.”

Krayzelburg, a former USC standout, said he was especially disappointed to lose in his home pool, but said that he’ll use the result as a learning experience as the Olympic trials approach.

“Sometimes you can have a bad race,” Krayzelburg said. “I’m not really that concerned. I know once I start resting, I’ll feel stronger. I’m going to put this behind me and refocus.”

Peirsol and Krayzelburg raced each other three times this summer, but it was Peirsol’s first victory over Krayzelburg and only his second in a major meet in the last three years. Peirsol said defeating his rival still hadn’t registered.

“I forgot what it’s like to be first,” Peirsol said. “It’s been a while, especially against Lenny. I don’t think he swam the way he wanted to. It’s just a boost for me more than anything.”

Krayzelburg said Peirsol is one of the favorites to win a gold medal in Sydney. The top two finishers at the trials, held Aug. 9-16 in Indianapolis, earn Olympic berths.

“He’s definitely for real,” Krayzelburg said. “When Aaron touched the wall, he had this look on his face like ‘I’m sorry I beat you.’ But we’re competitors. We all want to be the best”

Dara Torres, 33, who placed second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 54.47 after leading early, is attempting to become the first American to swim in four Olympics.

“My initial reaction was I was bummed I lost, but it was my best time by a half-second,” she said.