By Robert Falkoff
KANSAS CITY - Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol has traveled all over the world for swimming competitions, thrilling fans in exotic and not-so-exotic locales far and wide. But this week, Peirsol is a host with the most.
At the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine, Calif., just a few miles from the Orange County family home in Newport Beach, Peirsol will feel those ties that bind like never before as the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships swing into high gear. When he’s in the pool, family and scores of friends from his growing-up years will be cheering him on. And when sister Hayley is in the midst of her competitions, Peirsol will join the big Southern California delegation on hand to lend fervent support and celebrate the Peirsol reunion.
ConocoPhillips National Championships
Archived Multimedia:
Photo galleries ¬ Amanda Beard Natalie Coughlin Brendan Hansen Katie Hoff Kalyn Keller Aaron Peirsol Michael Phelps Erik Vendt Highlights ¬ Hansen smashes record Hoff lowers U.S. 200m IM mark Keller misses 400m freestyle mark Coughlin ekes out 100m butterfly win Coughlin captures 200m freestyle Phelps cruises in 200m freestyle Phelps flirts with 200m butterfly mark Peirsol wins 100m backstroke Interviews ¬ Aaron Peirsol Cullen Jones Jason Lezak Jessica Hardy Kaitlin Sandeno Kate Ziegler Katie Hoff Michael Phelps Ryan Lochte Brendan Hansen Tara Kirk
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The Buzz brought to you by Speedo “It’s really a cool thing to have this event just a few minutes away from where I grew up,” Peirsol said. “Those who couldn’t travel before can just hop in their car and be here in no time. The facility is unbelievable and it’s an ideal situation for me.”
Peirsol has no shortage of support around Orange County. After sweeping the backstroke events at the 2004 Olympic Games, becoming just the fifth male swimmer and fourth American to do so, he was treated to an “Aaron Peirsol Day” parade down in Newport Beach. Peirsol wouldn’t mind another parade after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and a strong effort this week could point him in that direction.
America’s best swimmers are competing for spots on the U.S. team for the upcoming Pan Pacific championships Aug. 17-21 and the world championships. It’s part of the two-year process that could land Peirsol in Beijing for his third Olympics at age 25, with the opportunity to show he’s still king of the backstroke.
“I’m hoping to swim unbelievably well here,” Piersol said. “Making the Pan Pacific team is first and foremost. Certainly, it’s hard to do your best times back-to-back within two weeks of each other. But that’s the goal and that’s what we try to do.”
Peirsol continues to be a driven competitor two years after earning three gold medals at the Athens Olympics. He picked up gold in the 100 meter backstroke, 200 meter backstroke and 4x100 meter medley relay. In 2000, Peirsol had established an Olympics foundation by earning a silver medal in the 200 meter backstroke.
“It’s hard for me to believe it has been two years since Athens and six years since I first swam in the Olympics,” Peirsol said. “I’ve learned a lot. The 2004 Olympics was an incredible learning experience. Everything that happened was awesome.
“The hunger has never gone away and I was afraid that it might. I was kind of wondering what I wanted to do next, but my goals have really remained the same. I think now it’s more about staying on top as long as I can.”
That challenge remains uppermost in Peirsol’s mind as he pays the price with an arduous training regimen.
“It’s one thing to get there,” Peirsol said. “You know who you are chasing and you know what times you have to go to beat the guy in front of you. But when you are the guy on top and people are pushing after you, it’s a different perspective. To me, consistency means more than anything I strove for.”
While he’s pumped up for his own performances in the National Championships, Peirsol is equally enthusiastic about watching sister Hayley showcase her talent on the national stage.
Hayley Peirsol turns 21 on Aug. 9 and a strong showing this week in her distance events would represent an early birthday present. The Auburn University swimmer has spent the summer training at Club Wolverine in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“She’s doing extremely well and I couldn’t be more proud or more happy for her,” Aaron Peirsol said. “Coaches come up to me and tell me they can’t break her down. She’s starting to care about the sport in a way she didn’t before. A lot of that has to do with experience and confidence and just growing up. She has gotten to the point where she believes in herself more and more. She’s not looking back. You can see in her eyes that she knows what she’s capable of and that has been inspiring to me.”
While Aaron and Hayley Peirsol would pick at each other as kids with the normal brother-sister relationship, the underlying love was always strong.
“I wanted to be like the boys,” Hayley Peirsol told USAswimming.org. “I was a huge tomboy.”
Once Aaron and Hayley went away to college at Texas and Auburn respectively, the relationship grew even stronger.
“She has taught me a lot,” Aaron Peirsol said. “Our relationship has definitely blossomed.”
Perhaps the Peirsol brother-sister duo will create more golden memories a couple of years out in Beijing. But the first step is flourishing this week in a pool not far from where they grew up.
“It’s Southern California and beautiful,” Aaron Peirsol said. “I’m among family and friends and in familiar surroundings. I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be right now.”
Robert Falkoff is a reporter for WCSN.com.