Easygoing Peirsol drips confidence

By Clay Latimer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 8, 2008 at 4:51 p.m.

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Aaron Peirsol.

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Can a laid-back surfer from Southern California find a home and harmony in the middle of Texas, 1,200 miles from his favorite mellow beaches?

It's a struggle at times for Aaron Peirsol, a University of Texas student who still goes online to check the Orange County surf report, still misses his favorite surf shacks, still daydreams about riding big breakers until the last rays of sunset send him home.

In fact, Peirsol is so up to his tanned neck in beach culture that he often escapes to a surfing hideaway in Costa Rica and the beach bungalow he's building on the edge of a rain forest.

"I think he'll move to Costa Rica (eventually) and we'll never see him again," said a friend in Austin, Texas.

But the coast isn't clear yet for Peirsol, who's as at home in chlorinated water as he is in salt water. He's focused now on the Beijing Games and an opportunity to add gold medals in the 100- and 200- meter backstroke to his rich Olympic legacy. He won both events four years ago in Athens, and in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, he won silver in the 200 as a high school senior.

"On my best day, I feel like I can line up with anybody," he said. "I feel that because of the way I train, the way I swim and because of the way I feel in the water."

In many ways, Peirsol is the anti- Michael Phelps, a low-key alternative to Phelps' obsessive genius.

Phelps' intensity is unwavering. After suffering a rare loss to Ian Crocker at the 2003 World Championships, he stuck a photo of the Texas butterflyer on his bedroom wall, a daily reminder of a horrible moment that had to be avenged.

Although Peirsol is hypercompetitive in the pool, his passion for music, photography and surf and sun quickly take his mind away from racing.

"I'm trying to do the best in the water, but by no means does it have to carry over to life," he said. "When I leave the pool, I don't care who beats me in . . . whatever."

Peirsol grew up in Orange County and learned to swim in the Pacific Ocean, becoming so comfortable in the water that he swam alongside a dolphin during a family vacation in the Bahamas, mimicking its movements.

By 10, he was an accomplished racer and surfer, a balancing act he has maintained ever since.

"You have to have a balance. Like anything you love, you can get sick of swimming sometimes," he said.

At the 2000 U.S. trials, Peirsol's mind went blank when he climbed onto a starting block; for a moment, the 17-year-old high school student wasn't certain where he was. But he picked up a silver medal in Sydney and headed back to Newport Beach, Calif., for his last year of high school - and plenty of surfing.

At Texas, his love of sand and surf quickly became evident to his Longhorns teammates and coach Eddie Reese.

"To stay close to Peirsol, I watch the surfing channel," said Reese, coach of the men's Olympic team.

Peirsol slept through a wake-up call on the morning of the NCAA finals, showed up late and still won. In Athens, he didn't show up in the ready room until a few minutes before the 100 backstroke final.

"I was about as late as you can get without getting in trouble," he said.

But Peirsol left Athens with three gold medals, more than any other swimmer except Phelps.

"Peirsol's a real racer. All you have to do is stand him up in a racing suit and he's ready to go," Reese said.

Added Peirsol, who's favored to win both backstroke events in Beijing: "In no way did I feel like a bridesmaid. I feel I've gotten plenty for what I've done. I'm very fulfilled with what I've done. Three gold medals is a great achievement. But it's three less than six, so that's a big gap. Phelps was on a whole other level, so I understand the awe of him."

Phelps' success has turned swimming into a money sport, enabling Peirsol to carve out a professional career with lucrative sponsorships - and to build a bungalow on a remote stretch of the Costa Rican coast.

"I love the water. I love the ocean. That's why I have a place in Costa Rica," he said. "The surf is great. It's beautiful. And it's different."

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