ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
America's swimmers are getting better every day in an Olympic pool where they were expected to struggle.
Jeff Rouse, the world's best backstroker, dominated his 100-meter race. Amy van Dyken fought off a strong challenge in the 100 butterfly. And the United States still hasn't been beaten in an Olympic men's 400 freestyle relay.
Tuesday night's haul was the best yet - three gold medals, one silver and one bronze. The four-day total increased to 17 - seven gold, eight silver and two bronze. No other country is close.
``This is a team that no one really expected anything out of,'' van Dyken said. ``They weren't looking for us. I said at the trials `we're going to sneak in there, incognito, and blow the place up.' That's what we're doing.''
Earlier, as still another American flag was raised, the freckle-faced van Dyken stood tall on the medal podium, her face aglow with a wide smile.
In these Centennial Games, the relay team's gold medal was the 100th for the U.S. men in Olympic swimming history. Gary Hall Jr., who anchored that team, swam the fastest 100-meter relay split in history, 47.45 seconds, shaving an amazing 21-hundredths of a second off American Matt Biondi's mark.
Now the unlikely seems probable - the Americans can match and even pass their 11 golds and 27 total medals at the 1992 Summer Games.
Americans, though, weren't the only winners.
Danyon Loader of New Zealand and Penny Heyns of South Africa both became double gold medalists. Loader added the 400 freestyle to his win in the 200 freestyle Saturday night. And Heyns won the 200 breast stroke after taking the 100 breast stroke Sunday night.
The United States nearly had a fourth gold medal, but Amanda Beard's late surge just fell short of Heyns, who won in an Olympic record 2 minutes, 25.41 seconds. The 14-year-old Beard was second in 2:25.75 and Agnes Kovacs of Hungary took third in 2:26.57.
Angel Martino got the other American medal, finishing third in the 100 butterfly. It was her second bronze of these games.
Van Dyken held on to win that race in 59.13, just one-hundredth of a second in front of Liu Limin of China. Martino's time was 59.23.
In the other women's race, Beard surged from a distant third after 150 meters and nearly caught Heyns, who had set a world record in the 100 breast stroke preliminaries two days earlier.
``On the last 50 meters,'' Beard said, ``I said, `no matter how hard this hurts, it's going to be over and I'm going to feel better about five minutes afterward so you might as well put everything into it.' I did and it was all worth it.''
``I was very aware beforehand that she would be right there and I'm glad it was that way,'' Heyns said. ``I was dead tired. It's one of the hardest races I've ever swam.''
The 400 freestyle was the only one Tuesday night with no American swimmer. Tom Dolan and John Piersma failed to qualify in the morning heats.
Loader won in 3:47.97, followed by Paul Palmer of Great Britain in 3:49.00, and Daniel Kowalski of Australia 3:49.39. Loader was first and Kowalski third in the 200 freestyle Saturday.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP U.S. swimmer Amy van Dyken barely can containby CNBherself after winning the women's 100-meter butterfly. color