Local swimmers dunk competition at worlds in Rome

They won't start until three years from today. But when the torch is lit in London in 2012, a couple Puget Sound area swimmers just might be medal favorites.

Consider events of the past couple days:

-- Ariana Kukors of Auburn, who was not supposed to be a contender in the 200 IM, went out and smashed Australian Stephanie Rice's world record in the event on day one of the worlds in Rome, swimming 2 minutes, 7.03 seconds in the semifinals.

It was not a fluke. Kukors, 20, swimming in a sleek Jaked polyurethane bodysuit -- the kind that will be banned after this season -- lowered the mark by a remarkable .88 seconds tonight in Rome, winning the event with a time of 2:06.15. Rice was second at 2:07.03.

"The last couple weeks, I've had some goal times in the back of my head, and I knew I had a big drop coming," Kukors, who trains at King Aquatic Club after a brief stint at the University of Washington, told USA Swimming. "I was very pleased to hear the words 'world champion' before my name (in the medal ceremonies). It was the first time for me, and something I'll always remember."

And she still has her "strong" event, the 400 IM, to go.

From the scene, Alan Abrahamson of Universal Sports reports that Kukors and her coach, Sean Hutchinson, credited her first-turn transition from fly to backstroke -- modeled after the one patented by Michael Phelps -- as the key to her record-setting swim.

-- Bremerton's Nathan Adrian, the talented sprinter who swims for Cal, anchored the men's 400 freestyle relay team at the world championships in Rome and bailed out the U.S. squad, which got off to a slow start. Adrian, schooled in the Florida Race Club run by coach Mike Bottom and legendary U.S. sprinter Gary Hall Jr., swam his 100 meters in 46.79 -- compared with 47.78 for teammate Michael Phelps.

The U.S. team of Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Matt Grevers and Adrian took gold with an overall time of 3:09.21, prompting coach Bob Bowman to remark: "I really wanted Nathan on the end of this relay, because he's the future of sprinting here in this country."

High praise, well deserved.

-- The local "old" pro, two-time gold medalist Megan (Quann) Jendrick of Puyallup, lowered the U.S. record in the 50 breaststroke. Jendrick, 25, swam a 30.40 at the Pac NW championships in Federal Way, breaking Jessica Hardy's former mark of 30.63. It was the 27th American record of her remarkable, and ongoing, career.

Too bad we don't have enough competitive swimmers around her to field a college team somewhere ... like, oh, maybe the University of Washington.

(Photo: Ariana Kukors after the 200 IM at the FINA World Championships in Rome Monday; Mark J. Terrill, AP).