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American Record for Gruen; 
Sydney 2000 for Albrycht

Connecticut swimmers' Deb Gruen (HNHS) and Dana Albrycht (OAK) returned from the USA Disability Championships, held this past June in Indianapolis, IN with much more than gold in hand.  Both broke American records  and Albrycht earned a berth on the USA Paralympic Team and heads to Sydney, Australia for the 2000 Paralympics in October.

Deb, age 12, arrived at her first national championship meet ready to swim. Focused with clear goals in mind and as if she were a veteran champion, Deb took the American Record in the 100M butterfly with a 2:11.99.  In addition to the gold in the 100M fly, she swam for two more gold medals in the 200M IM (4:18.19) and 200M free (3:14.03), and for a second place in the 400M free, missing the American Record by 1.3 seconds. Rounding out her list of events, Deb's final three swims were fourth in the 100M free, fifth in the 100M back and seventh in the 50M free.  Happily, Deb left the meet having exceeded her goals and certainly with the prospects of a bright future in national and international competition.  Her next goal?  The 2004 Paralympic Team, of course!

Dana Albrycht, 1996 Paralympian, was more than relieved when the USA Disability Championships concluded.  Entering the meet with a few weeks of training, plus the pressure of having previously made the Paralympic team, left doubt in Dana's mind as to how he would perform, but doubt was quickly cast aside as he went on to win the 100M butterfly with a 1:06.33, breaking the American Record.  Dana also posted a second place finish in the 50 free (28.98).  These swims earned him a place on the USA Paralympic team representing the USA in Sydney this October.  Selection to the team was especially fierce this year as the selection criteria had changed and only ten men were chosen.  Now with the USA Championships behind him, Dana will spend the next three months training intensively with OAK and at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. His next goal?  Take the World Record in the 100M fly; one second away from Dana's best time.