Jensen Is Carrying Heavy Load

Practice for the Mission Viejo Nadadores’ swim team was nearing an end Tuesday at the Marguerite Recreation Center. The only session left for the national team members was 1,500 to 2,000 meters of dreaded conditioning laps.

John Dussliere, an assistant coach for the Nadadores, could sense many were eager to get on with their day, so he gave them a chance to get out of the unpleasant drill, a really slim chance.

He told Larsen Jensen, the American record holder in the 800-meter freestyle, that he would let them off the hook if he could swim the 200 freestyle faster than 1 minute 53 seconds, which is a half-second off the 2004 Olympic trials qualifying time.

They both laughed.

“That’s a world-class time,” said Dussliere. “He was capable of it, the question was, ‘Could he do it here, all alone?’ ”

Jensen, 17, who is graduating from Mission Viejo High this week, reached the halfway point in 56.1 seconds and finished in 1:52.9, eliciting a cheer from his teammates, who escaped conditioning, and from the junior club members watching in awe.

“Doing that in the middle of such heavy training?” said Dussliere. “That will send a little message.”

Dussliere hopes it will ring loudly beginning today at the TYR Swim Meet of Champions at the Marguerite Recreation Center, where Jensen is entered in the 200, 400 and 1,500 freestyles in what figures to be one of the most competitive fields in years.

The four-day meet begins with only the men’s and women’s 800 freestyles today. Every race in the meet will have a swimmer ranked in the top 20 in the world.

Jensen, who broke the oldest U.S. men’s record in August, when he finished second in 7:52.05 in the 800 freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships in Yokohama, Japan, won’t compete in his specialty because it conflicts with graduation ceremonies.

The event still figures to be strong with Nadadore teammates Chad Carvin and Justin Mortimer.

Ous Mellouli of the Trojan Swim Club, the Pacific 10 Conference newcomer of the year at USC last season and a member of the 2000 Tunisian Olympic team, is also entered and is considered one of the favorites, along with Carvin, to finish as high-point award winner.

In the women’s events, Phoenix native Emily Mason of Tucson Ford and Kaitlin Sandeno of Trojan are considered favorites to win high-point honors.

Mason, an Arizona junior, was runner-up in the 200 butterfly and the 400 individual medley last spring at the NCAA championships.

Sandeno, a USC junior and a graduate of Lake Forest El Toro High, won a bronze medal in the 800 freestyle at the 2000 Olympics but finished third behind Mason in the 400 individual medley at the NCAA finals. They are entered in a combined 17 individual events.

The men’s sprint events are also expected to feature world-class participants. Entries include Americans Anthony Ervin (Cal), Jason Lezak (Irvine Novaquatics) and Scott Tucker (Novaquatics), South Africans Roland Schoeman (Cal) and Ryk Neethling (Tucson Ford), Canadian Mike Mintenko (British Columbia) and Polish world champion Bart Kizierowski (Cal).