Americans Manage to Mount Late Charge

American swimmers waited until the last individual events of the day Friday to stem the tide of Japanese dominance at the Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo.

After sending an early message at the four-day event with record-setting performances in the men’s and women’s 800-meter events on Thursday, the 21-member Japanese Olympic team quickly went to work on Day 2.

Japanese swimmers set two meet records while sweeping the first three places in the women’s 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter butterfly, and won the men’s 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter butterfly.

The Americans, whose Olympic trials are in August, rallied in the 400-meter freestyle with first-place finishes by El Toro High senior Kaitlin Sandeno and former Laguna Hills standout Chad Carvin.

Sandeno, a disappointing third in the 800, won the 400 in a time of 4:13.14. Sachiko Yamada, the 800-meter champion in Japan, was second in 4:14.06.

Carvin won the men’s 400 in 3:52.37, about a tenth of a second shy of a meet record. Japan’s Masato Hirano, who won the 800, finished second in 3:55.20.

Sandeno, coming off an injury to her left shoulder, said she was stiff and sore in Thursday’s 800. She also said she was thinking more about her last day at school than competing. Friday she had more of a chance to relax and just swim.

“I warmed up longer,” Sandeno said. “In the 800 my stroke wasn’t working very well.”

Yamada said she was shocked by Sandeno’s comeback. This meet is supposed to be a coming-out party for perhaps the best Japanese team in history, and until Friday’s 400 everything was going according to plan.

“I’m sad. That’s all I can say,” Yamada said. “I’m very disappointed.”

In the first head-to-head American race, USC’s Lenny Krayzelburg, the world record-holder in the 200-meter backstroke, held off Newport Harbor High junior Aaron Peirsol for first place with a meet-record time of 1:58.95. Krayzelburg’s mark was more than three seconds slower than his world-record time.

“I’m not sure Lenny is happy with that race,” Peirsol said. “This time of year, what this is is a practice race.”

Former Irvine High swimmer Jason Lezak staged the most dramatic comeback of the day. A poor showing in the preliminaries for the men’s 100 meters left him in the No. 8 lane with the slowest qualifying time.

But Lezak responded with a meet-record 50.46 to win. Nick Shackell, a member of the 1996 senior national team, had the best time in qualifying, but he faded to fifth in the final.

“I was tight and cold in the morning, but I got lucky and just got into the final,” Lezak said. “But the important thing is, I got in.”

Mexican national team swimmer Juan Veloz, who attended Mission Viejo High and trains with the host Nadadores Swim Club, lost at the wire to Takashi Yamamoto of Japan in the 200-meter butterfly. Yamamoto’s 2:00.02 was a meet record.

Veloz, who came on strong down the stretch in his home pool, was clocked in 2:00.16.