Keith Niebuhr
Special to Rivals High

America's next gymnast
Gymnasts of the past
200m to gold
Photos: U.S. Swimmers

Long before Megan Romano became a teenage phenom, a high school state champion, an athlete coveted by every elite college program and an Olympic hopeful, her mother noticed something unique.

At a young age, she had an uncanny competitive spirit.

"I knew something was up early on," Rhonda Romano said. "Her drive was crazy. She had to be the first one in the car. Had to be the first to put the seat belt on. And when we got home, she'd race everyone to the front door.

"It didn't matter what she was doing, she had to be first at everything."

Usually, in the pool, she was. "By the time I was 7 or 8, I was better than everyone else," Megan Romano said.

The Life Aquatic

Romano seperates herself from the pack with her commitment to training. She is in the pool from 5-6a.m. each morning and from 2:30-5:30p.m.

More impressive is this: Romano has qualified in six events ? the 50-meter free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 100 back and 200 back ? for the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, which take place June 29-July 6 in Omaha.

"Megan," said Romano's coach, Fred Lewis, "has a lot of natural ability."

Lewis would know. He has worked with Romano for nine years and has coached several Olympians, most notably Nicole Haislett, who won three gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

"Megan has height (she's 6 feet 2), natural strength and a great feel for the water," Lewis said. "Those are three things it takes to be a really fast swimmer."

Romano was introduced to the water by her parents as a toddler ? not to feed her competitive hunger but solely for safety purposes. In the family's backyard pool, Rhonda Romano held her daughter in her arms and taught Megan to float.

When Romano was 6, she was signed up for a local swim team.

"It was at a public pool, an Olympic-sized pool," Rhonda Romano said. "I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, she's not going to make it to the other side.' I kept thinking, 'What if she can't swim?' But on the first day, the coach called all the new kids and put them in the water to see who could swim, and Megan just took off."

For several years, Romano also played basketball and volleyball, but by the eighth grade she was putting everything into swimming. As with most top-flight swimmers, her training schedule is a grueling one.

Training with the best

Romano has spent plenty of time in the pool and has made friends with other standout swimmers like Michael Phelps. Check out the photo gallery of Phelps and other former American swimmers.

In high school, Romano has been dominant. To date, she owns four individual state titles. That is no small feat in Florida, a state known for producing sensational swimmers. As a freshman, she clocked the third-fastest 50-yard back relay split (26.20 seconds) in high school history. She has also earned more All-American honors than she can remember.

Now, she has a bigger prize in mind. She is focused squarely on earning a trip to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Her best shot might come in the 200 free, which she calls her signature event.

On weekdays, she swims from 5-6 a.m. During afternoons, she trains from 2:30-5:30, sometimes in the pool and sometimes just with intense cardiovascular workouts. She's also watching what she eats.

"The next few months are crucial," Romano said. "I'm trying real hard to make sure I do everything I can to make it."

Can she advance to the Olympics? Not even Lewis knows the answer.

"A lot of people have physical talent," Lewis said. "To make the Olympics, you have to have a desire to be the best. You have to want to train every single practice to your maximum. That's what it takes. It's really hard to project (with Romano). She's still young."

One thing is certain: Romano's competitiveness isn't a question.

"Other coaches have come to watch her train," Lewis said. "And they have said to me, 'My God, that is one of the hardest-working sprinters I've ever seen.' "

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Keith Niebuhr covers high school sports for the St. Petersburg Times.

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