Swimming A Bigger Splash

After lagging behind East Germany, U.S. women seem poised to win in every stroke and in record times

At the Seoul Olympics there were two U.S. women's swim teams: Janet Evans, who won three individual gold medals, and everybody else, who won none. While the East German women swept to 10 golds and a total of 21 medals, the non- Evans Americans scraped by with a silver and three bronzes.

In no other Olympic sport has the competitive picture been so transformed. East Germany doesn't exist anymore; neither does the steroid program that artificially enhanced its athletes. Meanwhile, so much American talent has ripened that Evans didn't qualify for this year's team in the 400-m individual medley, an event...

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