COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Swimming National Team standouts Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.) and Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), both individual gold medalists at the 2012 London Olympic Games, are expected to headline the Nov. 20-22 Arena Grand Prix at Minneapolis.
The three-day, short-course yards meet, which serves as the opener of the 2014-15 Arena Grand Prix Series, will take place at the University of Minnesota’s University Aquatic Center. Prelims will begin each day at 9 a.m. CST, followed by finals at 6 p.m. CST. A webcast of the complete meet will be available at usaswimming.org.
In addition to Adrian and Clary, fellow Olympic medalists Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) and Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.), the top American finishers in last season’s Arena Grand Prix Series, are also slated to swim in Minneapolis.
Other Olympians expected to compete include Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I.), Katie Hoff (Baltimore, Md.), Connor Jaeger (Fair Haven, N.J.), Darian Townsend (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Shannon Vreeland (Overland Park, Kan.).
Also expected to swim are 2014 Pan Pacific Championships team members Maya DiRado (Santa Rosa, Calif.), Becca Mann (Homer Glen, Ill.), Melanie Margalis (Clearwater, Fla.), Katie McLaughlin (Dana Point, Calif.) and Cody Miller (Las Vegas, Nev.).
Meet host University of Minnesota is expected to enter 60 swimmers.
Tickets are required for each session, and all-session passes are on sale now. Single-session tickets will be for sale on-site at the University Aquatic Center during the meet. Full meet information can be found at usaswimming.org.
The Arena Grand Prix at Minneapolis is the first of six stops of the 2014-15 Arena Grand Prix Series, which provides the nation’s best swimmers an opportunity to face top-flight competition on U.S. soil with twice the prize money as last season on the line.
As part of USA Swimming’s partnership with swimwear leader Arena, the Arena Grand Prix Series features $300,000 in overall prize money. Swimmers may earn awards for top-three finishes in all individual Olympic events across the series. At each meet, $1,000 will be provided for a first-place finish, $600 for second and $200 for third. In addition to the single-event prize money, the overall male and female winners of the season-long Series will earn a $10,000 bonus.
For the second consecutive season, USA Swimming partner BMW will award the grand prize of a one-year lease of a BMW vehicle to the highest-scoring eligible male and female U.S. swimmers.
Male and female overall Arena Grand Prix Series champions will be honored at the conclusion of the 2014-15 series based on the number of points accumulated throughout the six meets. Participants will be awarded points in each individual Olympic event throughout the duration of the Series (Five points for first, three for second, one point for third place).
The above is a press release submitted by USA Swimming.
Will the time standards stay the same for all the Grand Prix stops? or will each stop have their own cuts?