July 14, 2004

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Kirk's take their sister act to Olympics

by Keith Peters

Tara Kirk didn't want to be sitting at home in her Menlo Park apartment in August watching her sister, Dana, swimming on televsion at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

And Dana certainly didn't want to be alone at home watching Tara swimming for medals at the Summer Games.

As it turns out, neither will be home watching the Olympics on television. Both will be in Athens, seeing everything firsthand after becoming the first sisters in history to earn spots on the same U.S. Olympic swim team.

"I knew that it would be historic," said Tara, who turned 22 on Monday. "But, as the same time, I don't really care about that as much as I wanted my sister to make the Olympic team and wanted myself to make the Olympic team."

Dana agreed with that thinking.

"It's great to be on that Olympic team with my sister," said Dana, 20, who'll be a junior this fall at Stanford. "We've been wanting this for so long. It's going to be great having someone there who knows what I need to swim my best. I am so excited, you have no idea . . . being able to go together is really amazing."

Dana, who earlier missed qualifying for the team when she finished fourth in the 100 fly finals last week, made no mistake this time. She sped to an early lead and then hung on for the victory in 2:08.86 on Sunday at the Charter All Digital Aquatic Center in Long Beach. Somewhat surprisingly, Kirk had a faster time (2:08.40) last month in the same pool at the Janet Evans Invitational.

Tara Kirk had to wait until after warming up for her semifinal heat of the 200 breast to congratulate her sister.

"I just said good job," Tara said of the conversation, after the two had hugged. "I asked her if she's going to be my roommate and she said, 'I don't know.' So we'll see."

Actually, Dana now thinks it's a good idea.

"It would just make things easier," she said. "We like to eat the same foods. I know what she needs; she knows what I need."

Dana Kirk went into Sunday's 200 fly as the U.S. leader and the No. 4 performer in American history. The race, however, included American recordholder Misty Hyman, the Stanford grad who won the 2000 Olympic gold medal, and Mary DeScenza, who ranks No. 3 all-time in U.S. history behind former world recordholder Mary T. Meagher.

So, Dana knew her work was cut out for her, even though she was the only one under 2:10 during the prelims and semifinals. With the largest crowd (10,016) ever to witness an American swim race helping her out, Kirk was under world-record pace for the first 150 meters. Then it was just a matter of hanging on.

"Fifteen more meters: I have to get to the wall. I have to get to the wall," Kirk kept telling herself. At the same time, mom (Margaret) and dad (Jeff) were in the stands yelling.

"I was worried," Margaret told the Bremerton Sun, the Kirk's hometown paper. "What I was worried about was that Tara and Dana together (wouldn't make it). If one was left behind, it would have been difficult."

Tara made the team first, taking second in the 100 breast last Friday night in 1:07.69.

"Tara raced well enough in the critical moments of the end of the race to jump into second place," said Stanford women's coach Richard Quick. "There were four Olympians in the field and she beat three of them in order to make the Olympic team. It's a huge accomplishment and a real credit to her because she didn't swim her best race."

Tara's best race actually came in the semifinals, where she swam a personal best of 1:07.33. That made her No. 3 all-time in the U.S. behind American recordholder Megan Quann's 1:07.05 from the 2000 Sydney Games and Staciana Stitts' 1:07.20 from the prelims. Kirk now ranks as history's No. 8 performer.

More importantly, Kirk beat both Quann (third) and Stitts (fourth) to make the Olympic team. Kirk followed that with a personal best of 2:26.25 in the 200 breast prelims Sunday, but finished fifth in the finals Monday night in 2:28.42.

Now, however, comes the real important decision - when to report to the U.S. Olympic swimming team training came that begins July 18 at Stanford. Once back in their home pool and under the guidance of the Olympic staff, curfew will be 10:30 p.m.

"We might take our freedom a little bit longer," Tara said, "since we have our own house."

If the Kirks want to open up their house to USA teammates, they might want to include former Cardinal great Jenny Thompson. She qualified for her fourth Olympic team last week by finishing second in the 100 fly, beating Dana's lifetime best of 59.19 in the process.

At age 31, Thompson is the veteran of the women's team. She knows how to handle the pressures of the Olympics, as well as the preceeding trials. Thompson's 58.98 clocking came two years after she came out of retirement and five months since her mother, Margrid, died. The time gave her a shot at history.

"I was elated when I saw the No. 2 next to my name," Thompson said, after the swimmers had to wait in the extremely close race to discover where they finished. "At the trials, first and second are the same because they give you the same opportunity at the Olympics."

Thompson joins Dara Torres and Jill Sterkel as the only American swimmers to qualify for four Olympics.

Thompson now can make plans for the Summer Games in Athens, Greece, where she can become the all-time leader in Olympic swimming medals.

Thompson currently is the most decorated U.S. female Olympian in history with 10 medals - eight gold (all on relays), one silver and one bronze. If she wins two medals in Athens, she'll surpass Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi, both of whom have 11. If she wins two gold medals next month, she'll own more gold medals (10) than any other swimmer in Olympic history.

Speaking of Olympic history, the men's 100 back finals last Friday featured world recordholder Lenny Krayzelburg, history's No. 2 performer in Aaron Peirsol; 1996 Olympic gold medalist and former world recordholder Jeff Rouse; plus 100-meter short-course world recordholder Peter Marshall, one of four ex-Stanford athletes in the race.

Marshall was the unluckiest of the group, with his third-place finish of 54.10 just missing a berth. Krayzelburg swam 54.06 while Peirsol swam away with the title in 53.64. Stanford grads Randall Bal (54.20), Dan Westcott (54.93) and the 34-year-old Rouse (55.01) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

For Marshall, his 54.10 ranks him No. 4 in U.S. history and No. 7 all-time.

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