Vollmer’s Best Efforts Are Making for Bright Future

It hasn’t been easy being 15 and full of potential, but Dana Vollmer’s year grew even brighter Saturday at the Janet Evans Invitational.

Vollmer swam lifetime-best times in winning the women’s 200-meter freestyle and finishing second in the 50 free at USC.

It was a jubilant day for Vollmer, who spent much of the last year adjusting to life as a member of the women’s team that will compete in the upcoming Pan-American Games in the Dominican Republic.

Vollmer hesitantly switched to home schooling in her hometown of Fort Worth to accommodate her rigorous training schedule. During this time, she also experienced several blackouts caused by an irregular heartbeat.

“They never happened in the water, always during dry-land training,” said Vollmer, who will turn 16 in November. “Like one time, I blacked out on the pull-up bar.”

Vollmer had surgery to correct the condition four months ago and hasn’t fainted since.

She finished third in the 100 free Friday, then came back to win the 200 free in 2 minutes 1.01 seconds. She was the top qualifier in the 50 free before finishing second in 25.90, her first time under 26 seconds.

Jayme Cramer’s stock also continues to rise. Cramer, a junior at Stanford, broke a 6-year-old meet record in the men’s 200 freestyle.

Cramer’s lifetime best time of 1:49.37 bettered the previous mark of 1:49.87, set by Michael Klim of Australia in 1997.

Cramer, a Cincinnati native, was to compete in the World University Games in late August in South Korea but was selected as a replacement for the U.S. team that will compete in the Pan American Games in early August.