PORTLAND – His three Olympic gold medals were on the table in front of him, ready to be slipped over someone’s head for the next photo opportunity. Could there be a fourth for Ian Crocker?

The U.S. swimming trials in Omaha, Neb., are four months away. And if Maine’s favorite swimmer seems like he’s closed and locked the door to that part of his life, know that he has not thrown away the key.

“You never know. Maybe I could (earn a spot on the Olympic team.) But I probably won’t compete at that level again.

“I got married in October and that’s important to me. I want to be a good husband. I want to work at staying healthy.”

That was a nice segue as to why he left his home in Austin, Texas, to return to Portland this weekend. He’s promoting a Valentine’s Day effort to raise money and awareness of heart disease. Go for a swim at one of the pools registered at swimforyourheartfeb14.com and donate to your favorite heart charity.

Crocker stopped for an hour Saturday at each of the five pools in the Portland area, starting with the Paulson Pool at 7 a.m. at the Riverton Community Center in Portland and ending in midafternoon at a high school conference meet at Cape Elizabeth High.

He spoke, signed autographs and posed for photos with new and old fans who oohed and aahed over his medals. At Riverton, his easy smile and patience with bungled attempts to take his photo put everyone at ease.

After dealing with the scrutiny that surrounds every Olympics, Crocker resumed classes at the University of Texas and got his degree in sociology. He returned to the pool, but not to the rigors of Olympic training. He traveled a little, lending his name and his knowledge to young swimmers at various swim schools.

He retrieves his medals — he has one silver and one bronze, as well — from their safe place when someone asks. “At this level you’re always thinking of the next competition, the next goal, and you put the medals away. They’re not helping you.”

Crocker was hard-wired to be competitive, which fueled the drive to push his training harder to earn those medals. “It’s a lifestyle, being in the pool. It’s all I can remember from when I was 8 years old.

“I don’t know that I have a competitive outlet now, but I’m still in the pool.”

He’s 30, and his teen years at Cheverus High do seem long ago. He was successful in three Summer Olympics in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, and you wonder if it was enough.

“I didn’t crave the attention and sometimes it was kind of distracting.” He grinned, casually reminding that much of the attention flowed to Michael Phelps in Beijing, relegating Crocker and other team members to supporting roles.

But that’s life at the highest level of swimming, much as it is in track. Too often only one is anointed to represent the rest. Quick, can you name two other world-class sprinters besides Usain Bolt?

At Riverton, young and old fans didn’t care. Crocker was their Olympian, but he made them feel he was one of them. The crowds at the other pools later in the day were expected to be larger. Here, connections were made quickly even with swimmers who might have been all of 10 years old. Even youngsters understand the value of gold.

On the Internet there are whispers that Crocker’s times in the butterfly aren’t much slower and he’s considering a comeback. “It’s not easy to walk away, especially after I’ve exercised my adrenal glands so many times. You constantly remember what you were able to do.”

Crocker’s time here was running out. An older, recreational swimmer came out of the pool, toweled himself off and walked over. He was more interested in asking a question than in getting an autograph or having his photo taken with a gold medalist.

“Are you going to swim again?”

Crocker didn’t exactly say no and he didn’t say yes. Only he knows the price he’d have to pay to open that door again.

Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:

ssolloway@pressherald.com

Twitter: SteveSolloway