INDIANAPOLIS -- Brooke Bennett and Misty Hyman are trying to end an agonizing stretch.

Pain and frustration have replaced victories since the pair won gold medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Both have undergone shoulder surgery, and as a result, their world rankings plummeted.

After struggling to get back in shape through a difficult rehabilitation that cost them a few tears, the pair is trying to come back.

Bennett and Hyman are using this week's U.S. Spring Nationals in Indianapolis to prove they can reclaim their status as two of the world's best.

"I looked at what Dara (Torres) and some others did, and decided I could do it at this age,'' the 22-year-old Bennett said. "I want to win three golds in a row, and with the world records so close, I'm not giving that up.''

Before undergoing surgery, Bennett was the world's top swimmer in the 800-meter freestyle. Hyman was ranked No. 2 in the 200 butterfly.

The injuries changed everything.

Bennett hasn't won a significant race since Sydney, and Hyman missed the second half of the 2001 season after winning an NCAA title in the 200-yard butterfly.

Each has struggled since returning to the pool.

Bennett, the two-time defending Olympic champ in the 800 free, could swim just 600 meters when she returned. Hyman, whose training regimen included 12,000 to 14,000 meters per day, was restricted to 500 meters five days a week.

It was a painful reminder of how far they had fallen.

"I had to teach myself how to train again,'' Bennett said. "I forgot what six hours of training a day was like. It seemed to come back really fast.''

The desired results have taken longer to achieve.

Bennett was sixth in the 800 freestyle Tuesday, finishing in 8 minutes, 41.49 seconds, almost 22 seconds off her gold-medal winning time in Sydney.

Bennett was ecstatic, especially after going 9:04 at last year's summer nationals and 8:49 at December's U.S. Open.

Hyman set the American record in the 200 butterfly in Sydney at age 21. She was nowhere near her best Wednesday.

She led for the first 100 meters and was third at the final turn before fading to eighth in 2:14.03, more than four seconds behind Georgina Lee's winning time.

Hyman was pleased with her 2:12 in prelims, a race in which she cut more than six seconds off her time U.S. Open time. She said she hadn't shortened her time by that much in four months since she was 10 or 12.

"That's what feels good,'' Hyman said. "I feel young again.''

Hyman needed surgery to repair torn cartilage and remove a bursa sac in her left shoulder in August 2001.

Bennett had surgery to stabilize her right shoulder on Nov. 1, 2001. Doctors performed a similar procedure on her left shoulder 29 days later. Each arm was in a sling for three weeks. She couldn't lift her arms above her head for two months and spent five months out of the pool.

Bennett has spent 13 months trying to rebuild her stamina and speed. She still struggles with her stamina when she swims too many events.

While Bennett and Hyman don't talk much about their injuries or comebacks, they are rooting for each other to be at their best in time for next year's Olympic trials.

"We have sort of an unspoken camaraderie,'' Hyman said. "We kind of offer each other support. I kind of watch where she is, and she kind of watches where I am.''

Bennett and Hyman hope they're all the way back for next summer's Olympics -- and on top of the world again.

"I'm looking at the big picture,'' Bennett said. "The big picture is to come back and qualify in two events next year. That's the goal.''