Mighty Minnows

It is a good thing for most of the world's female swimmers that the 1968 Olympics were not held last week. Not that another year of competition is likely to make has-beens out of four U.S. schoolgirls--none of them over 17--who last week put on the most remarkable display of record smashing in the history of the Women's A.A.U. Swimming Championships. In four days at Philadelphia's Kelly Pool, nine world and 13 American records were demolished, and U.S. aquatic status soared to suzerain heights.

For an upset, there was the 200-meter freestyle victory of Florida's Pam Kruse, 17, who clocked a world-record 2 min. 9.7 sec.--while the old recordholder, California's Pokey Watson, straggled in fifth. For beauty, there was Florida's lissome, blonde Catie Ball, 15, who set world marks in both the 100meter and 200-meter breaststroke. And for versatility, there was California's tousle-haired Claudia Kolb, 17, who 1) won the 400-meter individual medley in world-record time, 2) set a second record in the 200-meter medley, 3) swam the breaststroke leg for the Santa Clara Swim Club's victorious 400-meter med ley relay team, and 4) anchored the same club's winning 800-meter freestyle relay team. Asked whether all that swimming wasn't a little much, Claudia shrugged: "It's better than standing around."

But the mightiest minnow of them all was Debbie Meyer, the baby of the bunch, 5 ft. 6 1/2 in. tall, 111 Ibs., just turned 15--and already the possessor of three world records. Daughter of a Sacramento, Calif., plant manager, Debbie has been splashing around pools ever since she was six months old, and her current training regimen calls for at least 12,000 meters of swimming a day, six days a week. All she had to shoot at last week were her own monthold world records in the 400-meter free style (4 min. 32.6 sec.) and the 1,500-meter freestyle (18 min. 11.1 sec.). She shot 'em dead. First, she lopped 3.6 sec. off her 400-meter mark. Then, to the utter astonishment of everybody but herself, she churned through the 1,500 meters in an incredible 17 min. 50.2 sec.--20.9 sec. faster than any other woman has ever swum that distance. Was she proud? Was she pleased? She was disappointed. "I missed what I wanted," she grumped. "I figured on doing 17 min. 50 sec. flat."

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