The Water Turns Kelly Gold At Nationals in Gainesville

The 500-yd. freestyle Thursday night started things off for Liz Kelly and the Crimson. She was seeded third but none of the Harvard contingent knew how they would compare with the national competition.

So, when she went out and set a new Division II national record and won in convincing fashion by wearing down the pack with a long 200-yd. sprint, it was big. The Crimson knew it would be in the thick of the competition and Kelly had shown the combination of sprinting and endurance which would take her to two more individual firsts and another Division II record.

What were her thoughts as she climbed from the pool? She could not remember last night. How does it feel to be a national champion and record holder? "It's no different," she said.

One gets the feeling that Liz Kelly just enjoys swimming, that glory and records are not what she is after. She likes the challenge, the new strategy that a race brings. "Each race is so different," she says. The 200-yd. freestyle is almost an all-out sprint while in the 1650--a mile--"I count laps. After 500 yards, I just start thinking about keeping my stroke together. It begins to hurt so much."

Kelly outlined her strategy in the 500. Her main opposition came from a friend from her native Philadelphia, where she grew up swimming. "I knew she went out fast so I figured if I could stay with her for the first 200, she would die. I hoped she would die."

"She's learned how to be tough in close races," coach Stephanie Walsh says of Kelly. She has not become a winner without working hard. But Kelly does not seem to mind.

She started the season doing the 500-yd. freestyle in 5:17 and cut her time by 14 seconds, finishing in 5:03.08 Thursday night. Similarly she has cut five seconds off her 200-yd. time and over 30 seconds for her 1650 clocking.

Kelly worked on the Nautilus equipment three times a week this season, and nowswims two hours every day. "She's amazing," Walsh says.

And now that the season is over, Kelly does not intend to stop. National champion or no national champion, you just can't keep her out of the pool.