Girls swimming: No poolside smoke alarms

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - Like a lot of American girls, Carly Geehr is

sensitive to cigarette smoke, so if you don’t mind, douse it.

Oops. Geehr’s not here. She’s in Shanghai, China, where smoking’s

allowed, even on pool decks while world-class swimmers like Geehr compete

in international meets.

Geehr, a Newport Harbor High junior standout and a member of the U.S.

national team since she was 12, celebrated her 16th birthday Dec. 5 in

Melbourne, Australia, and represented Team USA at three separate swim

meets during a recent two-week trip to China and Australia.

But it wasn’t all party favors and personal records for the Academic

All-American, starting at the World Cup in Shanghai, where Geehr swam the

200-meter freestyle, 100 and 200 breaststroke and 200 and 400 individual

medley.

“I swam OK in Shanghai, but I got sick over there, too, probably

because of the travel,” Geehr said. “But they all smoke indoors, all the

coaches, and everybody smokes on the pool deck. That’s probably why I

couldn’t breathe very well. It’s a different world.”

The next stop, Melbourne, was another World Cup event and Geehr made

the finals in every event, except the 200 free, a bit of a surprise. She

finished fourth in the world in the 400 individual medley.

“I absolutely loved the people, loved the city and loved the facility,

it was just great,” Geehr said.

Next came Sydney, where Geehr swam in a promotional meet called The

Skins, an event televised by Fox in which swimmers could earn prize

money.

“It was more for the professional people. It was a big event over

there and it had a considerable amount of (fans),” Geehr said. “It was a

big thing and our (U.S.) team had a lot of fun, but I can’t take any

money.

“But I got to go to Sydney for free (and swim in the Olympic pool).”

One event was the 200 mystery medley, in which swimmers are swimming

different strokes at different times.

“There were all sorts of crazy events there. It was a fun meet to

watch,” said Geehr, who earlier turned down a Team USA trip to Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, and didn’t want to miss another opportunity to travel

abroad.

“My coach (Dave Salo) really wanted me to get some international

experience,” she said. “After I turned down (Rio de Janeiro), a few weeks

later (a USA Swimming official) called back and said a couple of people

dropped out and they had some open space.

“When they called me, I wasn’t going to turn down a trip to China and

Australia. It was the chance of a lifetime, and I just made up my last

test (from school), so I’m all caught up.”

In old city Shanghai, no one spoke English, so Geehr improvised by

bartering with street vendors with a calculator, punching numbers,

nodding and, sometimes, walking away.

“I was buying a fan for my mom, and I got them down from 280 yuans to

90 yuans,” said Geehr, who came out paying about $10 with the currency

exchange (one U.S. dollar is equal to about eight Chinese yuan).

Geehr began swimming internationally at age 12, when she represented

the U.S. junior team in Japan at the Pan Pacific Games. When she was 14,

Geehr swam on the U.S. Junior Pan American team in Canada.

She has also been a prep standout.

Geehr transferred to Harbor last year after swimming for Pasadena

Mayfield her freshman year, breaking CIF Southern Section records and

winning section titles in the 200-yard individual medley and 500

freestyle.

Geehr also swam on Mayfield’s CIF championship 200 free relay and

runner-up 400 free relay teams, then her family moved to the beach.

“We’d always wanted to move down here and we thought we’d give it a

shot,” she said. “Plus, I was training at Irvine (Novaquatics) and the

commute was kind of long (from the Pasadena area), so it just made

sense.”

In November 1999, Geehr suffered a right rotator-cuff injury and

missed five months of regular training, but somehow managed to bounce

back last spring and help Newport Harbor finish second in CIF Division I.

“I got hurt last year, and that sort of messed everything up,” said

Geehr, who, despite her shoulder ailment, posted some remarkable times at

the Sea View League and CIF Division finals.

In a league dual meet against Aliso Niguel on April 26, Geehr broke a

Newport Harbor record in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.12, then teamed

with Amy Murphy, Jenna Murphy and Nicole Mackey to break a school record

in the 200 free relay in 1:42.57.

Geehr later captured Sea View titles in the 200 free, with a league

record-breaking time of 1:50.76, and 100 backstroke (58.41). She earned

All-American status in the 200 free. Coach Ken Lamont’s Sailors also

broke a league record in the 400 free relay (3:36.01) with Geehr, Amy

Murphy, Hayley Peirsol and Mackey.

In addition to swimming on two Harbor relay teams which finished in

the top three at the CIF Division I finals at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool

in Long Beach, including one winner, Geehr placed second and third

individually in the 200 free and 500 free, respectively.

In the 200 free Division I championship heat, Geehr was barely

out-touched, clocking an impressive 1:49.45, while finishing third in the

500 free in 4:50.72.