This Bird Could Fly

When Harvard men's swimming Co-Captain Bill Bird stood on the blocks before the 200-yd. butterfly at the Eastern Championships in Providence Saturday night, he knew that it was all coming to an end.

In less than two minutes, Bird would be retired.

The senior from Long Island made the final with the third fastest time in the morning trials, right behind Bucknell's Jim Harvey and Penn State's Dave Rafferty.

Throughout his four years of collegiate competition, Bird had placed near the top of the Eastern League in several events, especially the 100 and 200 butterfly and 500 freestyle.

And this year was no different, as he swept his way to a second-place finish in the 500 free and took sixth in the 100 fly.

But as Bird grabbed the starting block for the 200 fly, he knew another thing. Despite four great years, he had never won an Eastern race. Ever.

Adding to the pressure, the Crimson was in the midst of a gallant comeback bid, trying to catch Princeton before the meet ended. Not only did Bird need the victory, but his team needed it as well.

Bird adjusted his goggles one last time, reached down for the block and waited for the start in lane three. Harvey crouched next to him in lane four, with Rafferty in five. The horn went off, and Bird's last swim began.

"It was like I was swimming in a dream," Bird said after the swim. "Normally I like to look at my competition a lot during a race, but I got out quickly and never looked until there were 50 yards to go."

Bird led the race after 50,100 and 150 yards, all just slightly over Harvey. Then, with two lengths left, Rafferty made his bid for the lead, and all three leaders touched the far wall even. One length to go.

While pushing off the wall, Bird took a glance at both Harvey and Rafferty, saw he had a chance to take the race and never looked back.

"When I saw that we were all pretty much even coming off the last wall, I knew I had a good shot," Bird said. "I have worked on my finishes for many years and take pride in being able to pull out the close ones."

With 10 yards left, Bird took his final breath, put his head down and drove for the wall. Timing his strokes right, he lunged for the wall.

The deafening crowd noise and electronic scoreboard told the whole story--Bird was Eastern champion in the 200 butterfly, touching .13 of a second ahead of Rafferty and .18 seconds before Harvey.

The captain's retirement had begun, except for one last thing. Minutes after his final swim, Bird received the Hal Ulen award, which goes to the senior scoring the most Eastern points in his four years. The butterfly title put him over the top.

"I was really shocked when they called my name for the award, because there were so many deserving swimmers. It is such an honor that it is tough for me to describe the feeling."

So the soft-spoken senior from Syosset received his well-deserved moment of glory. Even if he was suprised by winning the Hal Ulen award, not many others in attendance were.

Because everybody knows that Birds can fly.