Article by John Manenti
At first sight, most readers will wonder how such a result can be achieved in a Discipline such as Swimming where the chronometer is the master, especially when electronic measurement has now been introduced which excludes any error in establishing the order of arrival, and instead there is a possible circumstance, even if it occurred only once in the history of the Games, in which this could happenand you will understand it only by continuing to read our story today …
Meanwhile, it is necessary to make a necessary premise, regarding the value of the tenders Swimming in the two “halved Olympic Games” in Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 for the well-known boycotts and which refers to the two sectors, men’s and women’s, i.e. that the results obtained in the Soviet capital with regard to girls are much more valuable – just think that there are 6 world records and a further 5 Olympic records , compared to just 5 Olympic records four years later in California – with a diametrically opposite situation in the men’s field, where a single world record and 3 Olympic records in Moscow are matched by the fall of 10 world records and a further Olympic to the Angels.
Since our History refers to this last sector, it is right to remember how the protagonists of the Californian Games would almost all be almost certainly winners even in the case of a “full ranks” Olympics, just think of the presence of West German Michael Gross, American backstroke Rick Carey, fellow breaststroke specialist Steve Lundquist, as well as Canadians Victor Davis and Alex Baumannin addition to the absolute surprise created by the Australian John Sieben, who allows himself to precede Gross in the Final of the 200m butterfly with a world record, as well as of course the three US relays, all below the previous absolute limits …
We used the “quasi”because if there are two races that would have absolutely not seen the relative winners put the Gold Medal around their necks, these are the trials of the middle distance (m.400 and 1500) in freestylewhich for more than five years have had a single and undisputed ruler in the “legendary” Soviet Vladimir Salnikov, Gold over both distances at the 1980 Moscow Games and, most importantly, in the two World Championships in Berlin 1978 and Guayaquil 1982as well as the world record holder m.400sl (3’48”32), m.800sl (7’52”23 even if a non-Olympic distance …) and m.1500sl with a time of 14’54”76 after being the first man to break the “barrier of 15′ net”.
In the Final of the m.400sl at the 1982 World Championships in Guayaquil, Salnikov imposes himself with the Championship record of 3’51″30 ahead of his compatriot Svyatoslav Semenov and the East German Sven Lodziewskiwhile the first of the “westerners”, finished sixth behind the two Yugoslav brothers Darjan and Borut Petric, is the then 19-year-old American George DiCarlotimed in 3’54″68, while on the longer distance of 1500m asl the situation is almost identical, with the two Soviets occupying the first two places, with the only difference being Darjan Petrice who prevails over Lodziewski in the challenge for the bronze and DiCarlo to confirm sixth placebut behind West German Rainer Henkel …
The following year, on the occasion of the Continental Review of Rome 1983, Salnikov does not fail to score twice with the respective times of 3’49″80 and 15’08″84with Borut Petric winning the silver in both races, ahead of his younger brother Darjan over the shortest distance and the West German Stefan Pfeiffer over 1500 metres, so that, in view of the Olympic appointment, I am the representatives of West Germany the most accredited rivals of Team USAgiven the absence of Eastern European freestylers, even though Yugoslavia does not follow the indications coming from the Kremlin and, consequently, the two often mentioned Petric brothers are present.
In response, overseas the traditional “Olympic Trials” are held at the end of June 1984 in Indianapolis, with the important novelty that, for the first time in the history of the Games, only two athletes per nation are admitted in the individual competitions, thereby making this selection particularly demanding, even though DiCarlo once again confirms himself as the best middle-distance runner in the US swimming scene, winning both races on the 400m and 1500m sl, complete with a national record, reaching the respective times of 3’51″03 and 15’01″50 certainly auspicious in view of the challenges in the swimming pool of the “Olympic Swim Stadium” della University of South California a Los Angeles …
George DiCarlo, born July 13, 1963 in St. Petersburg, Floridais a student at the “University of Arizona” and, consequently, competes for the Club of “Arizona Wildcats”, finding himself doing his thing Olympic debut on 2 August 1984, when the heats are scheduled in the morning and the Final in the afternoon of the m.400slwith the 36 members divided into 5 heats, which see the best 8 times qualify for the afternoon Final, with those who finish from ninth to 16th place to take part in Final B.
Such a regulation is fatal to West Germans Thomas Fahrner (already bronze individual on m.200sl and silver with the 4x200sl relay), who wins the third series with a time of 3’55”26currently fourth after the 3’53″41 of his compatriot Pfeiffer and the 3’55″00 of the blue Marco Dell’Uomo in the first heat and the 3’53″89 recorded by the Australian Justin Lemberg in the second, if not were it that in the two remaining series there are 5 who do better than him – including the two Americans John Mykkanen and DiCarlo, divided (3’53″43 to 3’53″44) by just one 0″01 cent – so as to be the first of those excluded from the afternoon Final …
An error of judgment – in all probability due to the attempt to save energy having already played two demanding races – which costs dearly to the 21-year-old from the Palatinate (while of the two Petric brothers only Darjan qualifies with the fifth fastest time …), forced to assist in the call room at a Finale in which he could have been the protagonist and which, conversely, he sees a close challenge between the two Americans, after DiCarlo passes in 1’55″27 in the middle of the race, with an advantage of over 1″ over Lemberg who is in turn closely followed by Mykkanenwith the latter changing gear in the last 100 meters swum in 56”82 only enough to win the silver compared (3’51″49 to 3’51″79) to the Australian but not to complete the comeback on the 21-year-old from Florida who, touching in 3’51″23takes away the satisfaction of improving the Olympic record of 3’51”31 set by Salnikov four years earlier in Moscow.
But there is one last chapter to read, given that 10′ later the 8 participants in Final B take to the water and, perhaps to vent the anger deriving from the failure to qualify, Fahrner dominates the race from the first to the last stroke and, most importantly, stops the clocks on a time of 3’50″91 (!!), i.e. better than that of the winnerso as to put even FINA (Federation Internationale de Natation) in difficulty regarding the validity or otherwise as an Olympic record, finally deciding in favor of the German swimmer, who remains so the only one in the history of the Games to have officially placed ninth, but with the absolute best timealso because from the Sydney 2000 edition the B Finals are abolished …
Having escaped the danger, a However, DiCarlo offers himself the opportunity to score a very significant double by showing up the following day for the heats of the m.1500sl, in which the not yet 19-year-old Mike O’Brien keeps him company, second in the Trials in 15’04”49and with the greatest pitfalls coming from the West German couple formed by Henkel and Pfeiffer, with the latter having concluded the Final of the m.400sl in fourth position, even if in the heats he also asserts himself the blue Stefano Grandi who, finishing in O’Brien’s wake, establishes the Italian record in 15’22”49while both Petric brothers remain out of the final act scheduled for August 4, 1984 …
The planned “family challengebetween the two representativesstars and stripes” lasts vice versa only for the first 600 metres, when the two pass almost side by side (6’02″72 to 6’02″81 in favor of O’Brien …), with Pfeiffer and Henkel already more than 5″ behind, before it is the 19-year-old from Illinois who triumphs in blissful solitude with a time of 15’05″20, ahead of DiCarlo who still resists (15’10″59 to 15’12″77) against Pfeiffer’s comeback attempt establishing West German national supremacy.
In conclusion, DiCarlo – who complains as an excuse the temperature of the pool, which he says is hotter than his expectations – can be said satisfied given the chronometric response recorded on m.400sl by Fahrner (for all intents and purposes, the “real loser” of the Games …), returning to his studies which allow him to graduate and subsequently become Director at the Merck Pharmaceutical Company …
But we leave the final gloss to O’Brien and the comparison with Salnikov – who, incidentally, takes part in mid-August 1984 in the “Friendship Games” held in Moscow between the Nations absent in Los Angeles, winning both races on m.400 and 1500sl with the respective times of 3’49”27 and 15’03”51 – given that, interviewed at the end of the race, he underlined how: “obviously, my 15’05” are very far from the 14’54” recorded by the Soviet champion, however I am convinced that if we had found ourselves swimming next to each other it would have resulted in a good race …”
Never be said to ruin a beautiful dream …