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o €EME Speed swimmer It's not easy to concentrate on accounting when your youngster is just a couple of miles across town swimming for the big prize—a trip to the Olympic Games in Mexico City. But that is what John E. Skrifvars, Los Angeles partner, tried to do at the end of August. If his attention wandered a bit from his H&S work, other parents will understand. John was thinking of his daughter Lynn, a 17-year-old senior at Warren High School in Downey, California, who spent much of the time from August 24 to 28 at the Los Angeles Swim Stadium with other racers competing for places on the United States women's Olympic swimming team. While John Skrifvars went to work each morning at the H&S Los Angeles Office, Mrs. Skrifvars accompanied Lynn to the pool. Elimination heats were scheduled for the mornings; afternoon finals in each event determined who would travel to the Mexico City games. The family arrangement was that if Lynn's time in her morning heat should qualify her for the final, then John Skrifvars would get away from the office for an hour or two in the afternoon in order to see her compete in the showdown race. Lynn swam in clockings that were her lifetime best in each of the three events she entered—the 200-meter freestyle and the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. But other girls swam a bit faster, and Lynn qualified for the afternoon final in only one event, the 200-meter backstroke. Her father re- 14 ceived the news by telephone and went to the pool in the afternoon to see Lynn finish sixth, 3.8 seconds behind the winner, Pokey Watson, whose time bettered the listed world record. Although she did not make the Olympic team this year, Lynn performed remarkably well at the Los Angeles trials. Her 200-meter backstroke time, 2:28.1, was 2.4 seconds faster than her best previous time. Lynn's coach, Don Gambril of Long Beach, brought her training along in stages so her peak performance in both freestyle and backstroke events would be at the Olympic try outs. Other coaches and swimmers did likewise— with the result that seven world records were bettered in five days of swimming races that were nothing short of sensational. Sherman Chavoor, coach of the U.S. women's Olympic swimming team, said at the end: "This is the greatest women's team ever assembled." George Haines, the men's team coach, added: "I've never seen a meet like this one. " Now back in school and planning to enter UCLA next year, Lynn is also pointing toward the World Student Games to be held next summer in Spain. She trains hard, working out twice daily seven days a week and swimming at least 12,000 meters (more than 7 miles) a day, when she can. She is a tall, slim girl (5' 8", 125 lbs.) who does well in her school work, but has little time for recreation not connected with her swimming. Unlike other girl swimmers of national standing, many of whom have been swimming competitively since they were tots, Lynn has been competing for only four years. "We pretty much let Lynn alone, and don't push her," Mrs. Skrifvars says. "She decides herself how much she wants to give to her swimming." About coming close to the Olympic Games, but missing the trip, Lynn's mother said: "She took it beautifully. I think her father and I were more crushed than she was." Copyrighted -- License from Black Star