COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 12. USA Swimming National Team members Tom Shields (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Michael Weiss (Reno, Nev.) have been added to the U.S. roster for next month’s Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, set for Dec. 20-21 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Shields and Weiss were added to the roster following a knee injury to Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.). Lochte will sit out the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, which features the U.S. squaring off against a team of European all-stars. An updated roster for the U.S. team can be found here.
Shields, who is the short-course meters American record holder in the 100m and 200m fly, won silver in the 100m fly and bronze in the 50m fly at the 2012 FINA World Championships (SCM). He was a standout collegiate swimmer at the University of California, Berkeley.
Weiss, who swam collegiately at the University of Wisconsin, won gold in the 400m IM at the 2013 World University Games and finished second in the 400y IM at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
Since the initial Mutual of the Omaha Duel in the Pool roster announcement, Kathleen Baker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) also was added to the U.S. squad, replacing Sarah Denninghoff (Tucson, Ariz.). Baker won four medals at the 2013 FINA World Junior Championships.
The two-day, short-course Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool will be contested at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, site of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Day one of the meet is slated for 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 20, followed by the conclusion of the meet at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 21. Footage from the meet will be televised by NBC as part of a two-hour show on Sunday, Dec. 22. The show will air from 4-6 p.m. ET.
The Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool is a made-for-television event, designed to showcase the sport’s most exciting swimmers in a short-course meters format. This year’s event will be the sixth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming, with past Duels held in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011. The U.S. is undefeated and holds a 5-0 record in the event’s history.
The meet will be comprised of 15 events per gender (13 individual and two relays) with prize money at around $120,000. The winning team will earn will take home a portion of the winnings while prize money will be awarded to the winner of each race. A bonus will also be awarded for any world-record swim at the event.
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