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Thursday, December 5, 1996

PRICE:

Native of Hawaii developed talent on the

mainland, plans to stay after graduating from UCLABy Kristina L. Wilcox

Daily Bruin Contributor

OK, what is a native Hawaiian doing on the UCLA swim team? Shouldn't she be enjoying the gorgeous, clear ocean near Mililiani, and not a pool in Los Angeles?

"I didn't want to go to school there and I don't want to live there after I graduate," sprint freestyle swimmer Keiko Price said. "It is more exciting over here. I like the weather. It's chillier."

Growing up in paradise apparently isn't all it's cracked up to be.

"In Hawaii, the sky is always blue. But it rains a lot, it's humid and there isn't much to do," Price said.

Keiko's parents must like the Aloha State though. Keiko was born in Jervis, New York in 1978 to University of Hawaii graduates who decided to move back to Hawaii when she was 3 because "they didn't want to raise children in New York," according to Price.

Interestingly enough, Price didn't learn to swim in the inviting Hawaiian waters.

"My mom says she taught me how to swim when I was 2, but I don't remember," Price said. "I have been on a team, swimming laps, since I was 8."

So maybe the mainland is a good place for Keiko after all, since this is where she was first introduced to the skills that have become her livelihood.

"Keiko was the top sprint recruit in the nation last year," head coach Cyndi Gallagher said about the freshman swimmer.

Other people seem to agree with Gallagher. For instance, Price, along with teammate Lindsay Etter, was one of 40 swimmers chosen to participate in U.S. Swimming's "Project Sydney." This program is geared towards preparing talent for the Olympics in 2000.

"We go to Colorado Springs two times a year where they do research on us," Price said. "We are their guinea pigs. They collect data from us and share it with coaches across the U.S. They test our percent body fat and flexibility, videotape us underwater. It's cool stuff, and kinda fun."

Price hopes that the research will help her reach the Australian Olympics, because it would be a great way to end her swimming career. Surprisingly, she does not see herself competing after that.

"It's over after college," she said. "The Olympics happen after my fourth year here, and that's all."

And with her potential, she has the ability to leave the swimming world with a medal.

"Keiko is here to take care of business," Gallagher said. "She wants to swim and get an education. She is very disciplined and focused. Keiko is a great athlete, not just a swimmer. She wants to be the best, and is willing to do what it takes to be the best."

JON FERREY/Daily Bruin

Keiko Price, freestyle sprinter and Olympics 2000 candidate, is a

pool veteran , swimming in teams from the age of 8.