As Kim Vandenberg steps up on the block this Friday and glances
over her shoulder, she will recognize an all too familiar face.
Stanford’s Dana Kirk, a 2004 Olympian and
Vandenberg’s arch-nemesis, has been a thorn to the UCLA
junior’s side in the past. This year, however, Vandenberg has
a quiet confidence about the match-up.
“I don’t want to jinx anything though,”
Vandenberg said.
This Friday afternoon in Palo Alto, Vandenberg and Kirk will
face off in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly, a stroke that both
swimmers have excelled in throughout their careers. Both Vandenberg
and Kirk boast some of the fastest times in the nation in the
butterfly, so when the two jump into the pool this Friday, it will
add fuel to the competitive fire.
“She’s one of the best, one of my toughest
competitors,” Vandenberg said. “She pushes me to
perform my best, and I am looking forward to the races.”
It won’t be the first time the two have faced off in the
pool. They have gone head to head on numerous occasions, going back
and forth between first and second place.
But in their most important race to date, Kirk had all the
glory. In the 200m butterfly this past summer at the U.S. Olympic
Trials, Kirk earned a trip to Athens, placing first in the race.
Vandenberg, meanwhile, finished fifth, a fraction of a second away
from securing a spot on the team.
“It was hard to get so close but not make it,”
Vandenberg said. “It was bittersweet. It was really painful
watching the replays, but I have no regrets.”
With that meet long behind her, Vandenberg is back concentrating
on the collegiate competition. Her season bests in the 100- and
200-yard butterfly are both better than Kirk’s, which puts
her in good position to do something almost no Bruin has done. Not
since 1996 Olympic gold medalist Annette Salmeen has a UCLA swimmer
captured a Pac-10 and NCAA Championship in the same year. But
it’s a feat UCLA coach Cyndi Gallagher expects Vandenberg to
accomplish.
“She is definitely good,” Gallagher said.
“When she wins Pac-10s and NCAAs it will be that obvious.
That’s going to happen, and it doesn’t happen very
often.”
Salmeen, who is currently in graduate school at Stanford, will
be present at this Saturday’s meet, cheering on the next
Bruin that could follow in her footsteps.
“To be compared to Annette is an honor,” Vandenberg
said. “I look up to her, and I am excited for the opportunity
to meet her.”
With great times and an insane work ethic, Vandenberg has the
potential to be a national champion. She has already compiled an
impressive list of accolades and an NCAA Championship at the end of
this season would further cement her status as one of UCLA’s
finest.
After being named the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year two years ago,
Vandenberg became the first Bruin to be named the
conference’s swimmer of the month this past November. The
honor came as a surprise to Vandenberg, who did not even know about
the award until the day she received it.
“I didn’t know about it until a trainer
congratulated me in the weight room,” Vandenberg said.
“After that I asked my coach and she told me all about
it.”
Vandenberg’s nonchalance toward her awards mimics her
attitude toward her opponents in the pool. Rather than keep an eye
on her competition, the laid-back Moraga native acknowledges she is
at her best when she can zone them out.
“The fastest times I’ve ever swam, I didn’t
even know where the other swimmers were.”
On Saturday, Vandenberg knows she will be racing Kirk. But if
all goes well for her, she won’t be seeing her.