Bathtub Splasher

Joe Verdeur churned himself half out of the water at every stroke. His nearest pur suer in the N.C.A.A. 200-yard breaststroke finals was yards behind. After he had reached the finish in Seattle's University of Washington pool, Joe's winning time was announced as 2:16.8. It was al most three seconds better than the official world record -- but four-tenths worse than Joe's performance of the previous week.

Joe set the record himself last year when he was a physical instructor in the Navy. His time then was 2:19.5, which still stands on the books until his new marks are officially accepted. But by now Joe can do better while scarcely getting out of breath. Last week's race was his fourth record-breaker of this season.

Now 21, Joe is a freshman at Philadelphia's little La Salle College. Since La Salle has no pool, he does his swimming at the Turners' Club, a gymnasium in Philadelphia's German section. To help himself through La Salle (he wants to be a dentist) Verdeur stokes the furnace at the gym. The Turners' pool is an antiquated 18-by-20-yard tub with no gutters; when Joe gets to thrashing around in it, the sidewash kicks up into ocean-sized waves.

Result: when he moves into untroubled waters where championship meets are held, record-setting is no trick at all.

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