Hall Makes Comeback - U.S. Nationals - Day 5
1999-08-11

We have the results from the first 5 days of swimming at the US Nationals. They can be found in our meet results area.

Roland Schoeman 19 of South Africa who swims with Hillenbrand swam a 22.04 in the B Finals of the mens 50 free, giving him the fastest 50m time in the world this year and the 4th fastest 50m on the all time list.

Gary Hall Jr. didn't need any words to make a statement on his comeback. His winning swim in the 50m freestyle on Tuesday at the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships said it all. His time of 22.13 is the 13th-fastest ever swum and is a personal-best, bettering his mark of 22.26, which won him a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. He is now the fifth-fastest man ever and the third-fastest American, behind only Tom Jager and Matt Biondi. Hall's time qualifies him for the Pan Pacific Championships, but he hasn't decided yet if he will attend the meet.

"I didn't know what to really expect tonight," Hall said. "There's just been so much I've had to overcome. It's been so long since I've raced that it was like a new sensation for me. I could tell that I hadn't done it in such a long time. I was really nervous and I'm usually not that way."

Hall's wasn't the only comeback swim, as Amy Van Dyken also posted an impressive time, after missing much of the last year with a shoulder injury that required surgery. Van Dyken swam a 25.13 to win the 50m free. She also made Pan Pac consideration time, but has decided not to attend the meet so she can continue to rehab her shoulder.

"I'm supposed to get a cortisone shot right when I get off the plane tomorrow," Van Dyken said. "I've been having a lot of problems with my shoulder. I need to get back into training - I can't be running all around the world racing again. I want to swim pain-free again so I can hopefully make the Olympic team."

Chad Carvin won his 15th national title and his fourth Nationals Kiphuth Award for high points, as he captured the 1500m freestyle tonight in 15:22.85. Carvin, who accepted a roster spot on the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships team, also won the 400m and 800m free and was third in the 200m free at this meet. Also accepting spots were: Samantha Arsenault, Bryan Jones, Megan Quann and Kari Haag Woodall.

Kristine Quance-Julian won her 10th national title and third Nationals Kiphuth Award, taking the top spot in the 200m individual medley (2:16.06). Tom Wilkens also claimed his 10th national title with a win in the men's 200m IM (2:02.03).

Lenny Krayzelburg was awarded the Phillips Performance Award for the fourth time in his career and for the third-straight time at the Summer Nationals. Krayzelburg broke the American record in the 200m back (1:56.68) for the fifth time in the last two years at this meet and was only 11-hundredths of a second off the world record.

Rookie of the meet honors went to Matt Macedo of Almaden, who was third in the 50m free tonight, and to Kim Vandenberg of Orinda Aquatics, who was 12th in the 100m fly. Trojan Swim Club won the women's and combined team titles, while Texas Aquatics won the men's title. Trojan coach Mark Schubert, who is the head men's coach of the 1999 Pan Pac team and 2000 Olympic team, has now coached club teams to 65 national titles, making him the winningest coach in U.S. Nationals history.

"The thing that was really fun about this meet was the kids caught fire and everyone got enthusiastic and got into it," Schubert said. "We had so many swimmers that were part of it -- experienced swimmers and new up-and-comers."
Report Courtesy US Swimming