July 09, 2004

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One final splash

Comebacks for Rouse, Thompson at the U.S. Trials

by Keith Peters

Jeff Rouse was selling houses, as many as he could. Then he tried his hand at golf, seeing how low he could get his handicap. The satisfaction he was looking for, however, wasn't there.

Jenny Thompson was at Columbia University's medical school, preparing for a career as a doctor and getting on with the rest of her life. Yet, she was unfulfilled.

There was an emptiness for Rouse and Thompson, even though both Stanford graduates had retired from swimming with little left to accomplish.

Rouse was the most dominant backstroker of his time, ranked No. 1 in the world for eight straight years and setting two world records in the 100-meter back that stood from 1991-99. He won gold medals in the 1992 Barcelona Games (400 medley relay) and 1996 Atlanta Games (100 back, 400 medley relay) and then retired.

Thompson was equally as dominant as she set a world record in the 100 free in 1992 and made three Olympic teams, winning 10 medals (eight gold, one silver, one bronze) to become the most-decorated U.S. female Olympian in history. She retired after the 2000 Sydney Games.

The two, however, are back. Retirement is over, at least for now. The lure of the water, the challenge and the satisfaction they achieved from swimming lured them to the pool one more time - perhaps for one more big splash.

Both are in Long Beach for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. Should Rouse make the team at age 34, he'll be the oldest male swimmer ever to qualify for the Summer Games. Should Thompson make the team at 31 and win two more gold medals next month in Athens, Greece, she'll own more (10) than any swimmer in Olympic history.

But that's not why the two returned to the sport.

"I missed the constant challenge of getting faster," Rouse said. "I missed specific goals. In life, you kind of like have all these things you want to accomplish, like owning a house or something, but there's no time frame for it. I like to have a sense of time. I need that urgency. This isn't about proving anything. I had to answer the question: 'How well could I swim again.'"

Thompson came back for a different reason.

"When I left the sport, I think I still had a lot to give," Thompson said earlier in the year. "I felt a little bit unfulfilled because of my performances, but also because I felt like I didn't give back to the sport as I could. I hadn't helped young swimmers enough. Now, I'm training with teenagers, and it's keeping me young, but it also feels like I'm helping them."

Thompson also returned to swimming as a gift to her mother, Margrid, who died in February of esophageal cancer.

"I think it's one of the reasons I wanted to come back," Thompson said. "My swimming was a great source of joy for her. I'm sure that was a part of it because she's still an inspiration for me.

"I feel my mom's presence and her strength every day. I feel as though I've absorbed her love and her courage and her bravery with her passing. Everything I do that is worthwhile is a tribute to my mom, but especially this year's Trials and (Olympic) Games, because I know how much she wanted me to be there in person and how much pride she had in my swimming."

Thompson, who graduated from Stanford in 1995, returned to swimming in 2002 while still taking classes.

"And it went very smoothly, actually," Thompson told the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle. "I'd go to school from 9 to 5, swim all evening, and then study at night. I took a leave from school in December so I could train more and make more of a commitment, so now I'll graduate (from med school) in 2006 rather in 2005."

Thompson's commitment paid off last season when she won three medals at the World Championships - gold in the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay and bronze in the 100 free.

While she's still looking for that elusive first individual Olympic gold medal, Thompson still says that her happiness with the sport isn't determined by the color of medals.

"I'm having more fun with the sport than I've ever had," she said. "The gold medal is not something that is the main motivator for me. I would like to do the best I can for my country, but the gold medal is not what's getting me out of bed in the morning."

Two more Olympic medals of any color will move Thompson past the 11 earned by Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi.

"I'm feeling more relaxed and having so much fun with swimming now as opposed to how I felt in 2000, and it's a great feeling," Thompson said. "I am very much looking forward to the Trials, because I think it will be a blast."

Thompson's first test at the U.S. Trials in Long Beach is in the 100 butterfly. Those finals were last night. She's also entered in the 100 free, with finals set for Monday, and in the 50 free, which helps wrap up the meet Wednesday. She needs to finish among the top two in any of the three events to earn a fourth trip to the Olympic Games.

Rouse will be shooting for his third Olympics, but his chances -- compared to Thompson's - are considerably less. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder has only one event - the 100 back. Those finals are tonight and could include world recordholder Lenny Krayzelburg, history's No. 2 performer in Aaron Piersol and short-course world recordholder Peter Marshall, who just graduated from Stanford and has been training alongside with Rouse.

"It's going to be a fast event," Rouse said. "If two or three guys swim as fast as they could and I'm a little off, it's not going to happen. It's not be being negative, I'm just a very realistic person. What these guys do is up to them. I have no control over it.

"I basically know it's going to take me having a really good swim, and it's going to take at least one other person to have an off swim - for me to make the team."

Rouse learned a long time ago that being the favorite means nothing. He was favored to win the individual gold medal in the 100 back at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but that didn't happen.

"Even when I was the best in the world, I cannot predict what's going to happen," he said. "You just don't know what people are going to do, like in '92. I had a good swim and (Canadian) Mark Tewksbury swam out of his head. I actually swam slower in '96 than in '92 and won by a good margin."

For that reason, Rouse goes into these Olympic Trials with an attitude unlike any before.

"It's different. I'm just at a different place," he said. "I still have the competitive juices and they'll kick in when they need to kick in. But I have no expectations. I don't feel like I have any pressure, none from me and none from anyone else. No one expects me to make the team.

"So, it's just a totally different situation. I can enjoy the race, for what I enjoy most about swimming, which is good because in my experience I know that when I swim the race that way - for the enjoyment of what I love about swimming - is when I have my best races. So, it's adding up to be a very positive experience.

"It already has been worth it, no matter what happens. No regrets. It's already a success . . . There's really only one thing out there left to figure out and it's going to be answered, no matter what happens."

And that is whether Rouse can still swim fast.

"I didn't feel like the age was a big issue," he said of his comeback try. "I felt good in the water, and felt like I could really swim fast again. I wasn't quite sure how fast. I wanted to see."

And Jeff Rouse will discover just that tonight, should he be in the finals of the 100 back. Jenny Thompson also will discover something about herself over the next few days.

No matter what happens, the legacy of these two Olympians is assured. They have proven themselves to be among the greatest swimmers in history. The fact both are in Long Beach for one final splash is just further proof.

"It will be nostalgic for me," Thompson said of what's ahead, "so don't be surprised if you see a tear or two - even if I win."

Said Rouse: "I could swim badly and the comeback journey would still be worth it. I don't need a gold medal. I already have that. I just needed the swimming goals again. That's the one thing I'm really going to miss."

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