His 10th national backstroke title comes after he trailed an opponent at the turn.
By DAN ALBANO
The Orange County Register
IRVINE – At the halfway point of Wednesday night’s 100-meter backstroke final, Aaron Peirsol faced threats on two fronts.
One lane over, Randall Bal not only reached the turn first, he was under Peirsol’s 2005 world-record pace.
But in typical Peirsol fashion, he coolly saved his best for the second half of the race.
Peirsol, 23, racing in his hometown on the second day of the U.S. Swimming Nationals at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, blasted off the wall at the 50 and roared to the second-fastest time in history.
He claimed his 10th national title in a backstroke event by touching in 53.38 seconds, just 21 hundredths of a second off his world record of 53.17.
Peirsol later acknowledged he wanted to set the world record but was pleased he held off the threat from Bal.
“That first one (national title of 2000) was probably easier than that one,” Peirsol said. “It never gets any easier, especially when you race against these guys.”
Bal, runner-up to Peirsol in the 100 at last summer’s World Championships, is known for his quick starts. In front of a near-capacity crowd of 1,600, he used his fast, windmill-like strokes to reach the turn in 25.94, two hundredths of a second off Peirsol’s world-record split from the U.S. nationals on April 2, 2005.
Early on, Peirsol’s graceful strokes had a slower turnover compared to Bal.
Peirsol, the reigning Olympic champion in the two-lap distance, reached the first wall in 26.06.
“Randall and I swim the race totally different,” Peirsol said. “Randall is a great front-halfer.
“If I can stay with him, my part is the back half. I’m more of a 200 guy, so I knew I was in good position coming off that wall.”
Peirsol said Eddie Reese, his Texas-based coach with Longhorn Aquatics, thought he emerged from the turn with the lead.
“It was pretty good,” Peirsol said of his turn. “Eddie said it was good, too.”
Peirsol split his second 50 in 27.31, just a tenth of a second off his world-record pace for the back half.
“When I started pumping it just a little more, it felt really good and kept going,” he said.
In finishing second, Bal, 25, broke the 54-second barrier for the first time with a 53.91.
He was pleased but said Peirsol likely will lower the standard later this month at the Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, British Columbia.
“I think it’s just a matter of time before he gets the momentum going,” Bal said.
Peirsol, who now lives in Austin, Texas, called this meet a “gear up” for Victoria and seemed satisfied with his 100 for now.
The 200 back and Michael Phelps arrive Saturday. Peirsol hasn’t lost a race at that distance since taking the silver to Lenny Krayzelburg at the 2000 Olympics.
“That 200 back is a completely different animal,” Peirsol said. “I’ve got two days to recover from that little 100. Plenty of time.”
2006 The Orange County Register