Another splash by youngster

Elizabeth Beisel backstroked her way to a second berth, finishing second in the 200. (Al bello/Getty Images)

OMAHA - Her name changes with every quadrennium, but there's always The Kid. She's 14 or 15 or 16 and she pops up wide-eyed and faster than a waterbug and makes the Olympic swimming team. In 1960, it was Donna de Varona. In 1964, it was Pokey Watson. There was Janet Evans in 1988, Anita Nall in 1992, Amanda Beard in 1996, Katie Hoff four years ago.

This time, it's Elizabeth Beisel, a 15-year-old from Saunderstown, R.I., who swims for the Bluefish Swim Club in Attleboro, Mass., and is faster and more versatile than any sea creature you'll find in Narragansett Bay.

Last night, Beisel punched her second ticket to Beijing, finishing second in the 200-meter backstroke to Margaret Hoelzer, who set a world record of 2 minutes 6.9 seconds.

"I wouldn't expect I would make it in two events," said Beisel, who came out of third place after the final turn to overhaul Hayley McGregory by less than eight-10ths of a second in 2:06.92. "This is awesome."

On a team with one woman old enough to be her mother (Dara Torres) and a few others who could be her aunts (Beard, Natalie Coughlin), Beisel is everyone's kid sister, a source of affection and amusement.

"Being the youngster is definitely hard," acknowledges Beisel, whose name is pronounced BYE-sel but is called Diesel by friends who admire her high-octane performances. "But I know a lot of the veterans, and they've helped me out."

She may be the youngest woman on the squad, but Beisel is no rookie. She made her first international appearance at 13, when she finished fifth in the 200-meter backstroke at the Pan Pacific Games. Last year, she was on the world team, reaching the semifinals in Melbourne.

The 200 back was supposed to be her best chance to get to Beijing, but Beisel surprised herself by making it on opening night last Sunday, finishing second in the 400 individual medley, where Hoff set a world record. It was an OMG ("Oh, my God!") moment, and it changed everything for Beisel, who was delighted not to have to wait until last night to nail down a spot.

"Just knowing I have my ticket and having all the pressure off my chest has been great," said Beisel, whose time (4:32.87) was better than Hoff's old American mark. "I've been able to relax the whole week. It's made the meet a lot more exciting for me."

The Olympic trials, Coughlin says, are a cruel meet. Except for the 100 and 200 free, where the top six get relay spots, only the top two in each event make the team. You can set a world record in the prelims, as McGregory did in the 100 back, and not make the team.

Yet it's the only meet where second is as good as first. Ryan Lochte didn't win a final here (although he came agonizingly close each time), but still made the team in three events. The people who do best here are the veterans who know how to pace themselves, then make a quick grab for the golden ring when it comes around, and the kids who don't know how hard all this is supposed to be.

They have what Evans called "that naive, innocent attitude." "You just get out and swim it," she once said. Beard, who was 14 when she made her first of four teams, treated the Games as "a big party with a swim meet attached."

That's how it's been for Beisel, who just finished her sophomore year at North Kingstown High School. She qualified for eight of the 13 events here and swam five - the two backstrokes, the two IMs, and the 200 free. Each time, Beisel came bouncing onto the deck as if the trials were a Rhode Island age-group meet, whirled her arms in a windmill warm-up, and dived in.

Last night was her finale and Beisel wasn't exactly relishing going 200 meters on her back. "That event kills me," she said. "My whole body - my arms, my legs. It's a rough one."

But Beisel made it look smooth. Her semifinal time of 2:07.78 was the world's third fastest this year and would have won the gold medal at the last three Olympics. Last night's effort would have won at every Games and she needed all of it. "I had a little energy left, so I went for it and I got it," Beisel said. "It's cool."

The first one was the big one, the ticket that sends her to China. Most of Beisel's elders here would have sold their birthright to get on that plane. Sometime, the trick is in not realizing how difficult a trip it can be.

John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.