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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Russian Swimmers Hand Out Huge Chunks Of Humble Pie Fast-Finishing Americans Come Out On Short End Of One-Sided Meet

Amanda Mays The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Just when it looked as if the Americans were going down fast, Todd Pace came through for the U.S. on Saturday afternoon in the USA vs. Russia NationsBank Swim Meet at the University of South Carolina Natatorium.

Pace outswam Russia’s Vladimir Predkin by 13-hundredths of a second in the 50-meter freestyle. His victory was the first for the Americans in four events, starting with a 3-second loss in the opening relay.

And although there were a few other U.S. triumphs, the meet, before a full house of about 500, belonged to the Russians, 66-29.

“They were better-prepared,” Pace said. “In ‘96, the U.S. will be ready for them. It’ll be tough, but it won’t be like this.”

The international visitors either weren’t expecting an outcome like this or were gracious winners.

“I thought we’d lose by 10 points,” Denis Pankratov said. “Either they didn’t peak for their meet or they didn’t bring their best.”

With their national championships five weeks away, the Russians, who have been training in Columbia since the first of April, are at the top of their training cycle. With the recent completion of the Pan Am Games, plus the NCAA championships, the Americans have been back in training for a few weeks.

“It humbled the team, and that’s a good thing,” said the United States’ Seth van Neerden, who placed third in the 200 breaststroke and swam on the 400 relay team. “It’ll make everybody more hungry.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We didn’t know where the Russians were.”

Several of the Russians had just spent two weeks at the U.S. Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“It’s a little different when you put personalities behind the faces,” said American Jon Olsen, who won the 100-meter freestyle in 51:35 seconds. “It’s fun … out of the water, but as soon as you get in the water and put on your U.S. suit. …”

Pace, who won his event in 23.38 seconds, understands.

“The pressure was on,” he said. “I was getting angry. I wanted to be the guy to step up and win.”

Teammate Paul Nelson followed in the next event, the 200 individual medley. Two events later, Olsen won. That would be it for U.S. victories, but no one was calling the meet a disappointment.

“Every one of us is giving it our best shot,” Pace said. “We’re at a little disadvantage because they’re at the end of their training cycle. But I’m pleased with how it’s going. I’ve done everything I could do.”

Dr. LeRoy Walker, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said the meet allowed the committee “to get an idea of where we are against top-flight competition and set forth a plan with more than a year to get ready for it.

“Many times we are too close to competition to do anything about it.”

This won’t be the Russians’ last trip to the U.S. before the Summer Olympics. They’ll be training in Columbia next spring and summer, and that suits them just fine.

“Columbia is really clean and very green,” Vladimir Selkov said. “But I like San Francisco the best.”

He was there in ‘91 and remains close to an American family there.

By late Saturday afternoon, Selkov and Pankratov were eager to get back to Russia.

“There’s no more business here, he just wants to go home,” a translator said for Pankratov. Selkov’s thoughts were similar: “He wants to go home,” the translator said. “He likes to train here, but there’s no place like home.”