Krayzelburg and Peirsol Duel Again

They’ve raced each other in backstroke events all over Southern California this year and each time Lenny Krayzelburg has finished ahead of Aaron Peirsol.

It happened again Sunday in the Swim Meet of Champions at Marguerite Aquatics Complex in Mission Viejo when Krayzelburg (55.04 seconds) defeated Peirsol (56.14) in the 100-meter backstroke.

This time, though, Peirsol exacted a measure of revenge as lead swimmer on the Irvine Novaquatics’ 400 medley relay team that set a meet record (3:47.89) while outpacing Krayzelburg’s second-place Trojan Swim Club, which finished in 3:51.40.

A former USC swimmer and the favorite in the Summer Olympics, Krayzelburg, 27, has finished ahead of Newport Harbor High sophomore Peirsol in backstroke events four times this year. They meet for the final time before the Olympic trials next month in the Janet Evans Invitational.

“Rivalry? It’s not really a rivalry,” Peirsol, 16, said. “Lenny and I bring out the best in each other when we’re in the water. For me, it’s because he’s such a great swimmer, and a nice guy who’s got a really great attitude.”

Krayzelburg came to the U.S. from Odessa, Russia, 12 years ago. A U.S. citizen since 1995, his legend in the backstroke has grown to the point that NBC featured him on its NBA Finals telecast as one of the best U.S. hopes for Olympic gold.

At this point Peirsol remains in his shadow, but Krayzelburg does not believe that will endure.

“I think he knows how good he is and that he’s still young and has a lot of years ahead of him,” Krayzelburg said. “He is swimming so well that I think he’s confident he can beat me. That’s what keeps me working hard.”

Boston native Erik Vendt, who swims for USC, won the men’s 1,500 meters in 15:29.17 for the only other victory by an American swimmer on Sunday. Vendt passed third-place finisher Chad Carvin (15:36.36), formerly of Laguna Hills High, and led through 450 meters before finishing four seconds ahead of runner-up Yota Arase.

“We’re still in training and aren’t set to go as fast as the Japanese swimmers,” Vendt said. “But you don’t want to get used to not winning. The mile is my event and I never want to get beat in that, so every time out I want to finish first.”

The Japanese team, which is also the Olympic squad, won nine of 12 races contested Sunday. Most impressive was Sachiko Yamada’s victory in the 1,500, winning in 16:18.95 to destroy her country’s record for that event by 20 seconds.

“We have practiced with the Mission Viejo swim team for almost two weeks and that has helped our swimmers improve immensely,” said Japan Coach Koji Ueno. “We are also in the process of practicing for the Olympics but we still stress that we shouldn’t lose.”

Setting meet records for the Japanese women were Noriko Inada (1:01.37, women’s 100 backstroke), Masami Tanaka (1:09.13, women’s 100 breaststroke) and the 400 relay team (4:09.96). Men’s record-setters included Akira Hayashi (1:02.43, 100 breaststroke) and Takashi Yamamoto (54.27, 100 butterfly).