Hardy, Lezak take different approaches

Jessica Hardy quit school at California to come home and train with Dave Salo at USC because, she says, he’s the only coach who can keep swimming fun for her. Otherwise she’d be bored to tears.

Jason Lezak used to be coached by Salo. Now Lezak, 32, trains by himself in an empty Irvine pool in the middle of the day. Hardy says Lezak is crazy and if she did that she’d put together an outline of a program every day and do half. Lezak says he’s too old and grumpy to train with a group any more.

Different strokes for different folks.

But both are eager to renew swimming acquaintances and get back into the racing pool for the first time this Olympic year when they compete today through Monday at the Toyota Southern California Grand Prix at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach.

This early-season meet will feature Michael Phelps, who won a record-setting seven gold medals at last year’s FINA World Championships and has the aim of at least tying Mark Spitz’s Olympic record of seven gold medals. Also expected to swim are national team members Tara Kirk, Kaitlin Sandeno, Larsen Jensen, Erik Vendt, Peter Vanderkaay and former Olympian Amanda Beard.

Hardy, best in the 100-meter breaststroke and Lezak, a sprinter who has his eye on a 100-meter freestyle Olympic medal, have more modest Olympic goals than Phelps but are no less focused on the Beijing Games.

Salo calls Hardy “easily the strongest female swimmer I’ve ever coached. That’s her truest asset. The other is that she’s got a natural stroke that works well. I just have to remind her sometimes to do certain things with her stroke.”

Hardy, 20, grew up in Long Beach and didn’t become a serious competitive swimmer until after her sophomore year at Long Beach Wilson High. She quit water polo, got her driver’s license and, she says, “For some reason, I don’t know why, I decided to focus on swimming.” Hardy made random cold calls to Southern California coaches and persuaded Salo, who was then running Novaquatics in Irvine, to give her a look.

“The thing is, while I hated the idea of swimming and practice, I really, really loved competing,” Hardy said. “I love to race, I don’t like to train. With Dave, he’s found a way to make me race and practice. He makes me like it all.”

At the 2005 World Championships, Hardy set a world record in the semifinals of the 100-meter breaststroke before settling for a silver medal in the finals. At the 2007 World Championships Hardy won a gold medal in the 50-meter breaststroke before finishing fourth in the 100.

She loved swimming for Salo, but when he moved to be USC’s coach almost two years ago, Hardy chose to attend Cal.

“While I maybe broadened my horizons at Cal, I ultimately decided it was in my best interests to come back. School is important in the long run I guess, but right now? Not really,” Hardy said.

Lezak, after spending 15 years with Salo, decided not to make the move to train at USC when Salo left Novaquatics.

“Honestly,” Lezak said, “at this stage of my career I know what I have to do. I get in, do what I need to do, get out. I’m pretty self-motivated.”

Lezak was part of the U.S. men’s 400-meter freestyle relay gold-medal team at the 2007 worlds and he finished fifth in the 100-meter free. He also has two gold, one silver and one bronze Olympic relay medals since 2000.

He is driven by that illusory individual medal. It is the fifth place in the 100 free last year that motivates him.

“I missed the gold medal by less than a tenth of a second,” Lezak said. “That’s something I felt I should have achieved and that’s what gets me in the pool every day. That tenth of a second. And Beijing.”

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diane.pucin@latimes.com

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Swimming

What: Toyota Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming.

Where: Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool, 400 Olympic Plaza, Long Beach.

When: Today through Monday. Preliminary heats 5 p.m. Today, 9 a.m. Saturday through Monday. Finals, two hours after heats today; 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday; 4 p.m. Monday.

Whom to watch: 2007 seven-time World Championship gold medalist Michael Phelps has entered seven events this weekend. Amanda Beard, who has won seven Olympic medals since 1996, is in training trying to make her fourth Olympic team.