All Orange County, all the time

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OMAHA -- Two Orange County kids who used to train with one another at the Irvine Novas ruled the swimming world tonight.

Amanda Beard, 26, made her fourth Olympic team, finishing second in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:25.13, finishing behind her former Trojan Swim Club teammate Rebecca Soni, who went 2:22.60.

The OC bookend came a few minutes later when Aaron Peirsol tied the world record in the 200 backstroke, winning in 1:54.32, holding off Ryan Lochte’s bid of 1:54.34. Lochte had held the record until tonight.

Peirsol was asked if this was revenge for losing his title to Lochte last year at the World Championships.

‘No, I wanted to get my hand on the wall first,’ said Peirsol, who will be competing in his third Olympics. ‘If I was seeking revenge, I probably would have beat him by a second.’

A thrilled Beard blew kisses to the crowd after she climbed out the pool. She hugged her coach, Cyndi Gallagher, of UCLA. They have had a short but successful partnership.

‘I was hoping for this, I didn’t expect it,’ said Beard, who only started training with Gallagher in April.

-- Lisa Dillman