COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, October 28. THIRTY-six top American swimmers, including 17 Olympians, will battle against a squad of European swimmers at the 2009 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Manchester, England December 18-19. The event, which will be broadcast on NBC on December 27 from 2-4 p.m. ET, will star Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), and Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.).
The bi-annual Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport's most exciting swimmers. This year's Duel takes on a new format with Team USA facing a team comprised of the top swimmers from Great Britain, Germany and Italy. The event will be held at the Manchester Aquatic Center.
Swimmers will be awarded for world-records and wins with world records commanding up to a $15,000 bonus and gold medals commanding $1,000.
In addition to Phelps, Soni, Lochte and Peirsol, the U.S. team will intermix Olympic medalists Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.), Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) and Margaret Hoelzer (Huntsville, Ala.) with rising stars such as Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.), Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), and Dagny Knutson (Minot, N.D.). The men's head coach for the Duel in the Pool will be Frank Busch while the women will be led by 2008 Women's Olympic Coach Jack Bauerle.
The U.S. team is comprised of the fastest swimmers selected from four meets in 2009 – the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships, Word University Games, U.S. Open and FINA World Championships. The European Select Team will be comprised of up to 18 men and 18 women from Great Britain, Germany and Italy, with each country sending a team of six men and six women.
The meet format will be short course meters. This is the fourth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming. Past Duels were held in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and pit all-star teams from the U.S. and Australia against each other. The U.S. is 3-0 in the history of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. For more information about this year's Duel, visit www.duelinthepool.com.
Men
Nathan Adrian California Aquatics Dave Durden
Mike Alexandrov Tucson FORD Aquatics Frank Busch
Jack Brown Tucson FORD Aquatics Frank Busch
Tyler Clary Club Wolverine/ University of Michigan Mike Bottom/ Jon Urbanchek
Mark Gangloff SwimMAC/ Auburn Aquatics David Marsh/ Brett Hawke
Matt Grevers Tucson FORD Aquatics Frank Busch
Michael Klueh Longhorn Aquatics Eddie Reese
Chad LaTourette Mission Viejo/ Stanford Swimming Bill Rose/ Skip Kenney
Ryan Lochte Gator Swim Club/ Daytona Beach Gregg Troy/ Steve Lochte
Sean Mahoney California Aquatics Dave Durden
Tyler McGill Auburn Aquatics/ Auburn University Brett Hawke
Aaron Peirsol Longhorn Aquatics Eddie Reese
Michael Phelps North Baltimore Aquatic Club Bob Bowman
Kevin Swander Club Paradise/ Indiana University Pam Swander
Nick Thoman SwimMAC David Marsh
Alex Vanderkaay Club Wolverine Mike Bottom/ Jon Urbanchek
Peter Vanderkaay Club Wolverine Jon Urbanchek
Garrett Weber-Gale Longhorn Aquatics Eddie Reese
Women
Elizabeth Beisel Bluefish Swim Club Chuck Batchelor
Mary DeScenza Athens Bulldogs Jack Bauerle
Missy Franklin Colorado Stars Todd Schmitz
Katy Freeman Santa Barbara Swim Club Gregg Wilson
Jessica Hardy Trojan Swim Club Dave Salo
Margaret Hoelzer FAST Swim Team Sean Hutchison
Katie Hoff FAST Swim Team Sean Hutchison
Ariana Kukors FAST Swim Team Sean Hutchison
Dagny Knutson A.S.K. Swim Kathy Aspaas
Christine Magnuson Tucson FORD Aquatics Frank Busch
Amber McDermott Longhorn Aquatics Doug Rusk
Hayley McGregory Longhorn Aquatics Doug Rusk
Elizabeth Pelton North Baltimore Aquatic Club Bob Bowman
Allison Schmitt University of Georgia/ Club Wolverine Jack Bauerle
Julia Smit Stanford Swimming Lea Maurer
Rebecca Soni Trojan Swim Club Dave Salo
Dana Vollmer California Aquatics Teri McKeever
Amanda Weir Swim Atlanta Chris Davis
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