2022 Duel in the Pool: Australia Edges U.S. in Mixed 4×800 Open Water Relay

2022 DUEL IN THE POOL

• Friday, August 19 – Sunday, August 21, 2022
• Sydney, Australia
• Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (pool swimming, Aug. 20-21)
• Bondi Beach (open water, Aug. 19)
• Start Times
  • Friday – open water: 9:00 am local / 7:00 pm ET on Thursday
  • Saturday – 7:00 pm local / 5:00 am ET
  • Sunday – 7:00 pm local / 5:00 am ET
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• How to Watch

The United States started off its 2022 Duel in the Pool showdown with a narrow loss to Australia in the mixed 4×800-meter open water relay on Friday morning at Bondi Beach. 

The quartet of Chelsea Gubecka, Kareena Lee, Kai Edwards, and Kyle Lee pulled off the victory to give the Aussies an 8-6 edge after the lone session on day one. It was the first open water event in the history of the Duel in the Pool.

The U.S. went with a different order, represented by Charlie Clark, David Johnston, Bella Sims, and Tylor Mathieu. The Americans’ front-loaded strategy made for an exciting chase down at the finish. 

Kyle Lee, the only non-Olympian on the Aussie relay, entered the water 18 seconds behind Mathieu and overtook her with 20 meters remaining to secure the win.

“My team put me in a very good position,” said Lee, 20, who will also swim the broken freestyle this weekend. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get them but I just tried to do my best and catch them. It was a pretty close finish. Once I went past Tylor I could see that she was still at my feet so I knew I couldn’t back off at the end.”

Clark, who attended the last Duel in the Pool seven years ago as a middle schooler, called the experience a dream come true despite the defeat.

“It was so fun getting to swim a race in such an iconic place like Bondi Beach,” said Clark, a rising junior at Ohio State. “It is honestly a dream come true to do this. It’s been an amazing opportunity to represent Team USA. I went to the last Duel in the Pool they had in 2015 in Indianapolis, and I watched. It was two weeks before our middle school championship and I wanted to get some motivation. So, to be able to compete for Team USA the next time they have Duel in the Pool, it’s like what I said before, a dream come true.”

Johnston, the second American in the water, enjoyed the casual yet competitive atmosphere that featured conversations with opponents before the relay began. 

“It was cool to be able to talk to the Aussie before we swam, making friends in the midst of battle,” said Johnston, a rising junior at the University of Texas. “I haven’t done much open water racing, but I used the nerves to my advantage. This was a good warmup for pool racing.”

The 17-year-old Sims cruised on the third leg, saying her 800 length felt more like a 600. 

“That 800 felt really good, almost like it was only a 600,” said Sims, a Sandpipers of Nevada standout who previously represented Team USA at June’s World Championships. “It’s always an honor to represent Team USA. I love this team so much. It is an honor to rep the stars and stripes.”

For Mathieu, it was her first time representing the U.S. on the international level. 

“It was a lot of fun, I do not have a lot of open water experience, so it was fun to gain it,” said Mathieu, a soon-to-be senior at the University of Florida. “It was my first international competition, so it was very exciting to compete for Team USA. I’m going to build on that performance, I think I swam well so I am going to try and put up some good times.”

The Duel in the Pool competition was established in 2003 with the United States competing against Australia. The two countries have previously competed in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

Team USA’s roster consists of a combination of NCAA and professional swimmers, as well as one high school swimmer (Sims). This year’s Duel in the Pool will also include para swimming events for the first time.

Thirty-nine events will take place across the next two days of competition. You can check out the full event schedule and scoring breakdown here.  

A live stream is available at www.usaswimming.org/watch beginning at 5 a.m. ET, with video playback available anytime after the sessions end. The stream will be available to all countries excluding Australia.