Day 1 at the Charloote UltraSwim Grand Prix has a short schedule, consisting of only the Olympic distance events: the women’s 800m and the men’s 1500m. This year’s UltraSwim seems to have a much more North-American oriented contingent, versus past years where we saw a lot of international stars like Fred Bosquet. Still, there should be some very good competition.
Today’s events are both timed finals.
Women’s 800m
Winner-Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo)
Runner-Up-Chelsea Nauta (Athens Bulldogs/UGA)
Darkhorse-Eva Lehtonen (Florida)
I Also Like-Allison Schmitt (Georgia), Emily Brunneman (Club Wolverine)
Comments-Sutton has been on fire this Grand Prix season, and I would look for her to continue that hot streak here. Chelsea Nauta, who is not as big of a name as she should be, is part of the University of Georgia mid-distance squad. She has a lot of freestyle versatility, and I expect a good showing from her now that she is recovering from the collegiate season. Lehtonen, who is going to be a sophomore at Florida, was a 2008 Finnish Olympian in this event.
Men’s 1500m
Winner-Peter Vanderkaay (Club Wolverine)
Runner-Up-Dane Vanderkaay (Club Wolverine)
DarkhorseChristian Bayo (Davies Nadadores)
I Also Like-Eegan Groome (First Colony)
Comments-I foresee a family affair in the men’s “metric mile,” led by Peter Vanderkaay. In the mile, veteran savvy is a huge advantage, and Peter has a ton of it. I see this as a breakout meet for his younger brother Dane, who has yet to match the lofty expectations that accompany the name “Vanderkaay” and “University of Michigan”. Bayo has had a lot of success in open water swimming, including a win in the 5k swim at the Panama Open. He also has shown a ton of freestyle versatility, in competing well in shorter pool distances too. Bayo is just an overall great freestyle athlete, and even seeded at #20, don’t count him out of contention. Groome is the highest seeded (10th) of the under-18 distance swimmers that appear to provide a strong future for the discipline.
