Standout Field Expected For 2018 Pro Swim Series At Mesa

Team USA Olympic gold medalists and world champions are among the headliners expected to compete at next week’s TYR Pro Swim Series at Mesa, set for April 12-15 at Skyline Aquatic Center.

The four-day meet opens Thursday, April 12 and continues through Sunday, April 15. April 12-14, daily prelims open at 9 a.m. PDT followed by finals at 5 p.m. on April 12 and 4:40 p.m. on April 13-14. The meet concludes April 15 with timed finals for the 1500-meter freestyle at 8 a.m. ET. Single- and all-session tickets are on sale now online.

Leading the U.S. Olympians expected to swim are 2016 individual medalists Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash./California Aquatics), Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill./Trojan Swim Club), Chase Kalisz (Bel Air, Md./Athens Bulldog Swim Club), Cody Miller (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics), Josh Prenot (Santa Maria, Calif./California Aquatics) and Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa./Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics).

Fellow individual Olympic medalists expected to join the Mesa field include Tucson-based Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./ Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics, Cullen Jones (Irvington, N.J./Wolfpack Elite) and Tempe-based Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich./Pitchfork Aquatics).

On the local front, Mesa native and Olympian Breeja Larson (Mesa, Ariz./New York Athletic Club) is slated to swim, as are collegiate standouts from Arizona State and Grand Canyon University and top local age-groupers.

Coverage of each finals sessions will be available on various NBC Sports platforms, including live coverage on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, April 14 at 8 p.m. EDT. Thursday, April 12 finals will be streamed live online atusaswimming.org and via the NBC Sports app, while Friday, April 15 finals will air live on the Olympic Channel at 8 p.m. EDT and on delay on NBC Sports Network at midnight EDT. A live webcast of daily prelims will be available at usaswimming.org.

This meet marks the third of six stops of the 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series. Following the first two meets in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Kalisz leads the men’s standings with 31 points, while Canada’s Taylor Ruck, tops the women’s leaderboard with 33 points.

Mesa also marks the second installment of some exciting adjustments to the Austin, Mesa and Santa Clara TYR Pro Swim Series meets, including:

• Addition of 50-meter events for each of the strokes, culminating in a “bracket-style final,” as well as an 800m freestyle for men and 1500m free for women
• Mixed 400m medley relay featuring members of the National Team and a 200m “mystery” individual medley final in which stroke order will be determined immediately prior to the event
• Finals will feature A and B finals only

Also continuing in Mesa is USA Swim Squads, a new feature for 2018 that allows USA Swimming National Team members to compete for team points and a grand prize throughout this year’s events. Four teams, captained by Olympic legends Natalie Coughlin, Lenny Krayzelburg, Jason Lezak and Kaitlin Sandeno, will feature six active athletes designated across six event categories (one athlete per team per category) who are eligible to score points in a maximum of two events from that category – free, back, breast, fly, IM or flex. Team Krayzelburg leads the way with 178 points heading into Mesa.

In the 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series, swimmers may earn awards for top-three finishes in all individual Olympic events. At each meet, $1,000 will be provided for a first-place finish, $600 for second and $200 for third. 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).

At 2018 Phillips 66 Nationals, the point totals will double to 10 points for first place, six for second and two points for third place. The final series tally will be computed after the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships, slated for July 25-29 in Irvine, California, and the prizes will be awarded at that time.

The top eligible male and female overall point total winners in the series will earn a one-year lease of a BMW vehicle, as well as a $10,000 series bonus.

About USA Swimming

As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visitwww.usaswimming.org.

Press Release courtesy of USA Swimming