Lezak Gets a Strong Push Into Athens

It only seemed as though Jason Lezak couldn’t get away from Gary Hall Jr. and his Race Club since he showed up at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

One of Hall’s handlers compared Lezak to Spud Webb. He was asked about Hall in nearly every interview, even after setting an American record in the 100-meter freestyle in the semifinals. Then Sunday, shortly before one of the biggest races of his life, a light plane buzzed over the temporary aquatic complex in downtown Long Beach during the national anthem, carrying the banner, “Swim Fast, Have Fun.” At the end was the Race Club’s web address.

“Three hundred dollars,” Hall Jr. said of the plane’s cost. “Curse words are extra.”

Finally, Lezak got away by getting away, exploding off the starting block in extraordinary fashion. Hall looked almost rooted to the block, and his poor start drew audible surprise from the sellout crowd of 10,016.

Lezak was in the clear, hitting the first 50 in 22.94 seconds and winning in 48.41. The 28-year-old from the Irvine Novaquatics made his first individual Olympic event. Ian Crocker was second in 49.06 and Hall was third in 49.16. Lezak’s reaction time off the blocks was 0.64, and Hall’s was 0.84.

“Tonight was very nerve-racking,” Lezak said. “I did the time last night [on Saturday]. I was real happy about it. I still hadn’t made the Olympic team yet. As much as I was excited about swimming, I still had some nerves. I tried a little too hard at the beginning. It made a difference coming home. I’m really going to swim it smarter in Athens.

“I’ve been antsy for two weeks. I’ve been looking forward to this forever. I haven’t been able to sleep, thinking about it all the time. Finally I can sleep at night.”

By finishing third, Hall made the 400 relay team and will be participating in his third Olympics, equaling the mark of his father, Gary Hall. The Halls will be the first American father-son duo to each participate in three Olympics, according to USA Swimming.

“Six of the last nine Olympics, not too bad,” said the elder Hall, who held the toddler Gary Jr. in the air in the pool in 1976 at the trials in Long Beach at Belmont Plaza when he qualified for his third team.

“The first impulsive feeling is, ‘Darn, he didn’t get second,’ ” said Hall Sr. “But it’s not maybe a bad thing. He’s on the team.”

There were plenty of other historical story lines:

Tara and Dana Kirk became the first sisters to make the same U.S. Olympic team, and Brendan Hansen of Longhorn Aquatics set his second world record in four days, winning the 200 breaststroke in 2:09.04.

Last week, Kosuke Kitajima of Japan had two world records. Now Hansen has taken them away. Kitajima had set the mark of 2:09.42 last summer.

“I know going into Athens there’s a big bull’s-eye on my chest,” said Hansen, who finished third in both breaststroke events at the 2000 trials, missing the Olympic team. “It was more important to me to make the Olympic team than to break world records, but doing that is an added plus.”

Kaitlin Sandeno of USC qualified in her fourth event by taking second in the 200 butterfly in 2:09.94, behind winner Dana Kirk, who went 2:08.86. Misty Hyman, the 2000 gold medalist in the event, was eighth.

Michael Phelps, who already has three individual wins, had another active day with four more swims, the prelims and semifinals of the 200 backstroke and the 200 individual medley.

Phelps had the fastest qualifying time in the 200 individual medley and second-fastest in the 200 backstroke, behind Aaron Peirsol, the 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the 200 backstroke.

Peirsol came close to his own world record in the semifinals, going 1:55.33. His world record is 1:55.15.

Amanda Beard had the fastest qualifying time in the 200 breaststroke, going 2:23.32.

But the Lezak-Hall matchup was the marquee event. They shook hands before and afterward but are still not exactly friendly.

“It’s not a battle like everyone thinks, like we’re going to throw down and fight,” Lezak said.

“As much as people say, he’ll still come up and shake my hand. That’s great. He wants to beat me. I want to beat him, but we’re not going to throw down in the parking lot.”

Hall’s grandfathers watched him race.

One of them, Charles Keating Jr., was incarcerated when Hall competed in the 1996 Olympics. Hall Sr. said it was the first time that the grandfather had seen Hall Jr. compete since the grandson was in high school. Keating apparently arrived in Long Beach Sunday after asking his grandson if he could come.

“I just qualified for my third Olympics, I’m real happy,” said Hall Jr., making a bid for team captain. “I think anybody that’s here, it’s really difficult to make one Olympic team. I’m really pleased having qualified for my third.

“It’s nice to have made as many Olympic teams as my father. It was the third Olympic Games that he carried the flag for the United States. I’d like to offer my services.”