COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Headlined by a talented group of eight open water standouts headed to August’s Pan Pacific Championships in Australia, USA Swimming today announced the rosters for three key international open water events next month – the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, Junior Pan Pacific Championships and FINA World Junior Open Water Championships.
Joining 2014 10-kilometer national champion Becca Mann (Homer Glen, Ill.) in the women’s Pan Pacific Championships lineup is Olympic silver medalist Haley Anderson (Granite Bay, Calif.), as well as 2010 Pan Pacs medalists Eva Fabian (Keene, N.H.) and Christine Jennings (Longmont, Colo.).
Men’s 10K national champion and Olympian Andrew Gemmell (Wilmington, Del.) will be joined on the men’s Pan Pacs roster by fellow Olympian Alex Meyer (Ithaca, N.Y.), as well as Sean Ryan (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif.).
The Pan Pacific Championships 10K is slated for Aug. 25 at the Southport Marine Stadium in Gold Coast, Australia.
As determined by the top four finishers per gender at last month’s USA Swimming Open Water National Championships in Castaic, California, Team USA’s Pan Pacs roster is an experienced one. The team mirrors the U.S. open water roster for last year’s FINA World Championships in Barcelona where Anderson and Fabian were medalists. Additionally, Jennings will look to defend her 2010 Pan Pacs 10K title, while Fabian will aim for a return to the podium after finishing second four years ago.
The U.S. open water coaching staff for 2014 Pan Pacs features women’s head coach Catherine Vogt of Trojan Swim Club and men’s head coach Dave Kelsheimer of Team Santa Monica. A complete Pan Pacs roster can be found online atusaswimming.org.
The U.S. roster for the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Championships will be led by Isabella Rongione (McLean, Va.), who finished seventh overall in the women’s 10K at Open Water Nationals. Lindsey Clary (Riverside, Calif.) and Regan Kology (Chatham, N.J.) round out the women’s roster.
The men’s roster at Junior Pan Pacs will be made up of Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.), Logan Houck (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Chris Yeager (Sugar Land, Texas). A complete Junior Pan Pacs roster can be found online at usaswimming.org.
The Junior Pan Pacific Championships 10K is slated for Aug. 31 in Maui, Hawaii.
Set for Aug. 29-30 in Eilat, Israel, the FINA Open Water World Junior Championships will feature a 5K race for ages 14-16 and a 7.5K race for ages 17-18.
Taylor Abbott (Cedar Park, Texas) and Megan Byrnes (Fairfax, Va.) headline the team after finishing eighth overall in their respective 5K events at 2014 Open Water Nationals. Joining Abbott and Byrnes in the 5K races for 14-16 year olds will be Kylie Mitchell (Hancock, N.H.) and Simon Lamar (Hacienda Heights, Calif.).
Jessie Arnold (Grottoes, Va.), Erin Emery (Las Vegas, Nev.), Liam Egan (Boston, Mass.) and Jerad Kaskawal La Habra, Calif.) will tackle the 7.5K race for 17-18 year olds.
Brian Brown of FAST Swim Team will serve as the head coach for the 14-16-year-old athletes, while Ron Aitken of the Sandpipers of Nevada will act as the head coach for the 17-18-year-old athletes. A complete roster for the FINA Open Water World Junior Championships can be found online at usaswimming.org.
Detailed selection procedures for the teams are outlined here.
The above is a press release submitted by USA Swimming.
Congratulations to our Team Santa Monica swimmers, Jordan Wilimovsky and Brendan Casey, selected for the teams!