THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608210635
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 60 lines
It all started five years ago when Krissy Archer saw a swimming suit she wanted, no matter what the cost. The price wasn't in dollars and cents, it was in dedication and determination.
Archer, 5 at the time, was at the pool in Virginia Beach when she saw a swim coach handing out suits to her players. She decided she had to have that suit.
``I wanted one when I saw them,'' Archer said. ``To get one you had to be on the swim team. So I started on the team. I still have the suit.''
Added to it are a slew of awards and meet titles. Earlier this month, Archer swept the 10-and-under group at the Virginia Beach Summer Swim League All-Star Meet, winning the maximum allowed five events. Competing for the Seven Springs Swim Club, Archer won the 50 freestyle in 31.32, the 25 breaststroke in 19.69, the 25 butterfly in 16.40 for three individual top medals. She then joined the winning 10-and-under mixed and freestyle relay teams.
``I've never done this good,'' Archer said. ``I just felt so good because it was the first time I excelled in all my events. It was my lucky pool.''
Archer not only favors the Great Bridge Swim and Racquet Club pool the meet was held in, but also credits a large part of her success to luck. Archer fails to note the five years of effort and determination, the four days a week of swimming in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon and her drive to overcome the tedium of the daily routine.
The 11-year-old Archer deals with the obstacles by staying focused on her goals of setting records and vying for a spot on the U.S. team in the 2000 Olympics.
``I just think about what I want to do, my goals,'' she said. ``I say to myself that I have to do this so that I can do other things.''
An avid TV viewer during the Olympics, Archer picked up breaststroke tips from the world's top swimmers. It was once her weakest stroke because it is ``tough on the arms and tough on your breathing patterns.'' Now, it is yet another event she is capable of winning.
``I watched the Olympics and I learned a lot,'' Archer said. ``I really want to go in 2000. I'm trying for it.''
Entering the winter season, Archer is stepping up her training a notch. She competes in a sport where hundredths of a second can drop a competitor out of contention, where a missed stroke can end a dream. It's no place for nerves.
``I can stay pretty calm while doing summer league, but I am so jumpy behind the blocks in the winter,'' Archer said.
So, she turns the edginess to an advantage.
``I kind of like being nervous,'' she said. ``It makes me go faster.''
Going faster is something at which Archer has become accomplished. She's a standout member of the Old Dominion Aquatic Club team most of the year and spent a lot of time this summer whittling away precious tenths of seconds, coming within two-hundredths of a second of making a top 16 national time. Next year, Archer plans to make the needed time.
``I'm going to have to work harder this year,'' Archer said. ``I'm going to swim five days a week. I think that will do a lot.''
So will Archer. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Krissy Archer
Hopes to make the 2000 Olympics by CNB