A Change in Altitude

Like most Harvard students, David Lundberg and Ron Raikula spent the last days of the summer in a pool; but instead of tanning themselves, they were tanning the hides of the other competitors at the World University Games in Mexico City.

Lundberg and Raikula were among the 5000 college athletes from 119 countries that qualified for the biennial Games, which include most of the summer Olympic sports.

Lundberg qualified for the Games by being a finalist in both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke at the National Amateur Athletic Union's (AAU) Longcourse swimming championships in august. In Mexico, he swam the breaststroke leg for the United States' 400-meter medley relay team, a squad that beat the Russian team by 0.8 seconds for the gold medal while setting a meet record at 3:51.2.

The Russians struck back at the Harvard freshman, however, when Vladimir Fliont touched Lundberg out for first place in the 100-meter breaststroke.

"I felt good after the race, maybe a little too good," Lundberg said after the loss.

"The next day in the Mexican newspaper there was a photo of me with a big grin on my face and shaking the winner's hand," he said. "I just hope next time he's shaking my hand with a grin on his face and I'm on top."

The Utah resident, who makes Happy Days' Ron Howard look like a greaser, said that in Mexico he had problems finding his pace because of the altitude.

A swimmer will start to feel the drop in oxygen at about 3000 feet above sea level. The air in Mexico City, located about 7000 feet above sea level, caused several swimmers to hyperventilate and "due to the altitude, no one in the meet from the U.S. team swam their best times," Stephie Walsh, coach of the Harvard women's swim team and manager of the U.S. team at the Games, said.

The effect of the altitude was obvious in Lundberg's 200-meter race when he led for the first two lengths but was passed on the way to the 150-meter mark.

"David just went out too fast in the 200 and couldn't keep up the pace," Walsh said.

Despite the less-than-perfect conditions, Lundberg appreciated the fact that "everyone on the team was supportive and since only college students were allowed to go there were no teenyboppers.

At 18 years old and fresh out of high school, Lundberg was one of the youngest members on the team and "is just starting to burst onto the scene," Harvard Coach Joe Bernal said.

Lundberg, one of the top recruits ever to come to Harvard, was a three-time high school All-American and holds state records in the 100- and 200-yd breaststroke and the 100-yd. freestyle events. His breaststroke times are already lower than the Harvard records.

All that Lundberg seems to lack is some international swimming experience which he gained at the Games while learning that "international competition is not all glamor and glory; you're still a regular guy when you go on a trip."

The Games marked Raikula's second international meet since he swam in a U.S.-Canadian dual meet last summer in Montreal.

"For the past two years, each summer I've swam in an Olympic pool," he said, hinting at where he'd like to swim next summer.

Like Lundberg, Raikula qualified for the meet at the NAAU championships where he finished first in the consolation round of the 200-meter backstroke, a race in which he went undefeated in Ivy League competition last year.

In Mexico Raikula had his work cut out for him since "the best competition was in the backstroke," Walsh said.

And at the end of the race only 0.51 seconds separated first and third place and Raikula, who was swimming in the outside lane, had to settle for the bronze, while Kyle Miller of the University of Florida won the gold and Djan Madruga of Brazil took the silver.

"I think I would have had the extra impetus to go faster if I had seen the guy in second place who beat me by 0.1 seconds," Raikula said.

Bernal was impressed with Raikula's performance especially since the sophomore from Kansas "had limited training after the college season."

"Ron should realize the tremendous potential he has," Bernal said. "With a little luck, hard work and a lot of confidence, Ron has an even money shot at making the Olympic team, as does David," he said.

"The United States is so deep in swimmers. Thank goodness they both got a chance to show their ability this summer," he added.