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By John Lohn
CRANBURY, New Jersey, June 28. SITTING in his hotel room in Melbourne, quarantined by the USA Swimming medical staff, Brendan Hansen wasn't in the best of moods. Never mind that he'd already defended his title in the 100 breaststroke at the 12th edition of the World Championships. Forget that he won a silver medal in the 50 breast, an event hardly his specialty.
Felled by illness, a nasty virus that sapped his energy and forced him to be temporarily secluded from his teammates, Hansen was forced to withdraw from the 200 breaststroke, the discipline that placed him on the international map. Rather than chase his world record, the Haverford High graduate was sentenced to a period of isolation.
He had Internet access, but surfing the Web quickly grew old. On television, he had the chance to watch the meet, but witnessing the final of the 200 breast – won by rival Kosuke Kitajima of Japan – only heightened his frustration. The week, particularly for an athlete who has regularly produced world-class performances, had turned into a nightmare. Or, had it?
Last week, continuing a charge he began three-plus years ago, Hansen was in Chicago, taking part in a fundraiser to raise awareness of leukemia and brightening the days of several youngsters fighting the disease. A spokesman for the Leukemia Research Foundation for three-plus years, Hansen is also a member of Toyota's Engines of Change Campaign, a program that highlights endurance athletes as community difference-makers. Those groups came together in Chi-Town.
"Chicago was awesome," said Hansen, a triple-medal winner at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. "I love hanging out with those kids. They've been through so much, so if I can just lift their spirits a little and take their minds off what they've been going through, that's what I want to do. It's a blast to see them light up when they put an Olympic medal around their neck.
"I've been lucky enough to have been given a talent to do something I love at a high level. These kids have to go through the pain of getting a spinal tap every week. I'm not going to complain about going through a hard practice or getting sick in Melbourne. I definitely didn't want that to happen, but you deal with it and move on. It wasn't the end of the world."
Since returning from Down Under, Hansen has been in heavy training at the University of Texas, his alma mater. His long-term focus, quickly becoming a short-term objective, is securing a second trip to the Olympics, then chasing further hardware on the biggest stage in sports. With a little more than a year before the United States Trials are held in Omaha, Nebraska, Hansen is simply trying to fine-tune all the little things that have made him the fastest man in history in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.
Beginning Friday, he'll take part in the Santa Clara International Invitational, a meet that has been a staple on Hansen's summer schedule. He'll race his primary events Friday (100 breast) and Sunday (200 breast) and get a feel for where he stands heading into the United States Nationals in Indianapolis from July 31-Aug. 4.
Whether Hansen pushes his world-record times of 59.13 and 2:08.50 in Indy is of no significance, really. If he happens to uncork some lightning-quick efforts, always a possibility, consider it a bonus. More than anything, he's eager to get some racing under his belt. Before he tangles with his countrymen at Nationals, Hansen will square off this weekend with Australia's Brenton Rickard, a man who has stated several times over the past year that he believes he can supplant Hansen as the world's premier breaststroker. It's worth noting that Rickard's top time in the 100 distance is more than a second slower than Hansen's global standard. The gap in the 200 sits at more than two seconds.
"I don't know what I did, but I guess I'm a hated man," said Hansen, coached by Eddie Reese. "I know Kitajima and Rickard have been talking, but I can only worry about me. I'm going to do what I've always done, work hard and keep raising the bar. I hope I can put something out there at Nationals, then we get a little break. After that, we work toward Beijing. I was talking with Eddie the other day and told him I wanted to train so hard that if I have a bad race, I'm still going to win. He said he's never heard anyone say that before."
Beyond Beijing, Hansen is unsure of what his swimming future holds. Certainly, he has nothing to prove, even if he left the sport today. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer who has lowered the times in his events to levels others haven't even sniffed. Basically, he'll take the day-at-a-time approach, weighing his status to see if a run at the 2012 Games in London is on the agenda.
If nothing else, his priorities are in line.
"I love what I do," he said. "I enjoy the sport and I love giving back to the kids and trying to make a difference. The kids I visit in the hospital have so much courage and heart. If they can tackle leukemia, they can do anything they put their mind to. When I visit, they look up to me. But, it's the other way around. I see them as my inspiration."