Swimming: McLean and Swanepoel reflect on what might have been

8.00am - By KEVIN NORQUAY

ATHENS - Olympic swimmer Hannah McLean put "the worst week of my life" behind her today, when she swam personal bests in the 200m backstroke twice and narrowly missed the final.

McLean regained her smile after a week of misery, swimming two minutes 13.33 seconds in her heat, then 2min 12.87sec in the semifinal tonight. That was good for 10th, only .26sec out of a pace in the final.

Corney Swanepoel, the other New Zealander in action in the pool overnight, finished last in his 100m butterfly semifinal.

He was 13th equal for the event in 52.99sec, missing his final by the same margin as McLean missed hers.

While Swanepoel was disappointed after coming to Athens ranked sixth, McLean lifted out of the gloom that hit her after she crashed out in the 100m backstroke on Sunday.

"The reality is I've swum the fastest I've ever swum, in an Olympic semifinal at my first Olympics, after having picked myself up from the biggest disappointment of my whole career," she told NZPA.

"Looking at it that way I've got to be pleased, got to be positive."

McLean was 22nd in the heats of her favourite 100m on Sunday, when rated a final hope.

McLean made a blazing start to the semifinal, leading after 50m. Gradually she slipped back to fifth, clinging tenaciously until the end.

"I think I probably went out a little too hard, I should have been slightly more controlled, ever so slightly," she said.

"Obviously I wanted to get in there and do a very good time."

She was thrilled to swim under 2min 13sec after being just over it several times in the past two years.

She learned a huge amount in Athens, she said.

"It's been the toughest week of my whole life," she said.

"I was so nervous leading into all my races, and when you have a bad swim, dealing with that and getting your confidence back ... I was just numb for a long time afterwards.

"I guess my body and mind just shut down because I hurt so much and was so disappointed I didn't really know what to do with myself. This morning I was the most nervous I've ever been.

"Now I feel I am reassured that I can do the job, and I'm really looking forward to racing tomorrow."

Fastest qualifier Stanislava Komarova of Russia won the semifinal in 2min 9.62sec, with second-placed Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe the second quickest in the semifinals.

South African-born Swanepoel swam 53.07sec to finish seventh in the fastest heat in the morning, which saw him qualify 15th for the semifinals.

He improved his time and place in the evening session, though not to his own satisfaction.

Swanepoel will have to watch the final knowing his best time would have qualified him sixth. American Michael Phelps was the fastest qualifier, swimming an Olympic record 51.61sec.

Swanepoel put down not matching his best to "small errors".

"I tried to go out really hard to try to take the race to the main guys, the big guns, but as a result I tired out in the second 50," he said.

"That was the big problem for me, I slipped back a lot in the second 50. I was perfectly prepared for the race, I trained for months and months on end doing hard training.

"Four hours of swimming a day, an hour and a half in the gym ... I don't know, you can't put it down to fitness, it was just small mistakes made."

The third New Zealand swimmer in action today, Rebecca Linton, swum well short of her best in the women's 800m heats.

She finished seventh out of seven in a time of 9min 02.41sec, slower than her qualifying time of 8min 52.08sec.

- NZPA