Kaitlin Sandeno

Kaitlin Sandeno, with two little earrings in each ear, with her fingernails painted two-tone, with her squeaky voice and her fascination with a pencil decorated in neon-colored feathers, has qualified for four events at the 2001 FINA Swimming World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July. As the 2001 Phillips 66 U.S.

Dara Torres was crying and she couldn't stop. It wasn't that Torres wasn't overjoyed about her two newest medals. She was. Torres was thrilled about her bronze in the women's 50-meter sprint and gold in the women's 400 medley relay. But Torres was crying for more than that, for much more than that. "I mean, I'm happy," Torres said. "But I guess I'm just bummed that it's over." Olympic swimming ended Saturday and that is truly a bummer.

Insomnia hasn't hurt Kaitlin Sandeno. Not yet. Once the Olympic swim trials began, catching 40 winks became a challenge. Even after making the United States team in three events, Sandeno has found little time to rest, except for the occasional catnap. "I've been up ever since the first day of the trials," said Sandeno, 17, who will be a senior at El Toro High this fall. "I think it's the excitement. I start thinking about stuff and my mind keeps going and going. I think about everything.

Attention attendance takers at El Toro High School. Kaitlin Sandeno will be late for her senior year. By a month. Sandeno, a 17-year-old from Lake Forest who will be vice president of her senior class, became the first 2000 U.S. Olympic swimmer Wednesday night when she won the women's 400-meter individual medley in a career-best time of 4 minutes 40.91 seconds, third-fastest in the world this year.

Kaitlin Sandeno said she left the blocks in the 800-meter freestyle race at the seventh Janet Evans Invitational wanting to make a statement. And she did it by holding off 1996 Olympian Claudia Poll of Costa Rica Thursday at USC McDonald's Swim Stadium. Sandeno's time of 8 minutes 38.66 seconds, 2.04 seconds faster than Poll's, highlighted the opening day of the four-day meet, which is a warmup to the Olympic trials Sept.9-16 in Indianapolis. "I'm very happy with the race," Sandeno said.

Kaitlin Sandeno, a junior at El Toro High School, won her third consecutive national title in the 400-meter individual medley Thursday, swimming a personal-best 4:42.74 at the National Swimming Championships in Federal Way, Wash. Sandeno, swimming for the Nellie Gail Gators of Lake Forest, was third in the 800 freestyle and second in the 200 butterfly earlier in the meet.

Kaitlin Sandeno was again spectacular in the pool Sunday on the closing day of the Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo. Sandeno dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle in 16 minutes 38.25 seconds at the Margeurite Swim Complex. Keeping an average split time of 1:06 during the 30-lap race, Sandeno was like a windup toy that never runs down. She finished almost 17 seconds ahead of second-place Alexis Binder of the Trojan Swim Club.

Fresh off of her narrow victory in the 200-meter breaststroke race over 14-year-old Kristen Caverly, Kaitlin Sandeno spoke like a hardened swimming veteran. "I was joking with my teammates before the race that I couldn't let a 14-year-old beat me," Sandeno said. "She's a young'un, but in the world of swimming it doesn't matter." Sandeno let her experience take over in the close race. After all, she's a worldly 16 years old.

Sophomore Kaitlin Sandeno used to marvel at Jennifer Parmenter, who at that time, was one of the top young swimmers in the nation. So it was understandable after Sandeno of El Toro High broke Parmenter's record Friday at Southern Section Division I girls' swimming finals that her grin was from ear to ear. "I feel so honored to break Jennifer's record," Sandeno said after her blazing 2 minutes .19 second victory in the 200 individual medley Friday night.