Big Conversation Starters Highlight Top Five Headlines On The Week That Was

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

TUCSON – We’re counting down the top five swimming headlines of the past week for The Week That Was, and we had some major conversation starters, with a college swimmer’s arrest and some great performances in the pool highlighting the past few days.

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The Week That Was #5: SwimMAC Carolina plans to build new facility

SwimMAC Carolina is one of the largest swim clubs in the United States, using nearly a dozen facilities in Charlotte and surrounding cities. That number is likely to increase by one in a few years, if the Mooresville Count Commissioners approve a bond to construct a state-of-the-art competition pool about 30 miles north of Charlotte. The pool will be coupled with a new Doubletree by Marriott hotel and will help bring SwimMAC’s dream of getting top-notch competitions to the area closer to reality. Though North Carolina already has a top facility in Greensboro, certainly the state could use another one to help boost its prospects of being a new swimming competition mecca. It’s not known how long it would take to build the pool, but SwimMAC is “ready to pull the trigger,” according to executive director Brandon Drawz. At the very least, the Charlotte stop on the Arena Pro Swim Series would be revitalized with this new facility, allowing for more warm-up space than is currently used and more spectator seating for what is regularly one of the most popular meets of the summer.

The Week That Was #4: Laszlo Cseh returns to former coach

Laszlo Cseh is one of swimming history’s most popular names, and as he prepares for what might be his final Olympic Games, the 29-year-old has announced that he’s returning to the coach who guided him in his teenage years. Plagany Zsolt said he jumped on the opportunity to get back to working with Cseh and getting him ready for this summer’s world championships. Cseh said he was looking for a change in coaching and a new team to help raise his motivation. That’s nothing new, especially in these 18 months before the Rio Olympics. The fact that Cseh is returning to a coach he knows well will help in the transition. Cseh is looking to shake up his event program, though it’s not clear if he’s ditching the 400 IM in favor of the 100 fly, the event in which he won silver at the 2013 world championships.

The Week That Was #3: Perth hosts major swimming talent

Perth was the site of another exciting BHP Billiton Super Series, which featured some of the best athletes from Australia, China, Japan and the United States. This is the first year that the Americans have taken part, and though the Aussies couldn’t be caught, Team USA put up a good fight. Some of the top swims included a 24.03 from Cate Campbell in the 50 free, a 58.89 from Emily Seebohm in the 100 back, a 1:54.62 from Ryosuke Irie and four victories from Daiya Seto. While superstar Ryan Lochte wasn’t able to score any wins, he did put up a good battle with Seto in the 200 IM, placing second with a 1:58.57 just three tenths back. The meet was a good way for athletes from each country to test their racing skills at various points in their training. All of the Americans have already been selected for their various international racing teams, so it could explain why they were not as fast as those getting ready for selection meets in about two months. We’re still six months away from the world championships, but some of the top athletes that will be challenging for medals are starting to emerge from the pack.
Day One recap
Day Two recap

The Week That Was #2: Katie Ledecky lowers 200 freestyle national high school record

It shouldn’t come as a surprise when Katie Ledecky breaks records. She does it at nearly every meet she attends. But even Swimming World’s Female World Swimmer of the Year was surprised by the 1:41.82 she swam at the Washington Metro Prep School championships. That time makes her just the fifth-fastest swimmer in history in the event, with three swimmers in the 1:41 range ahead of her and Missy Franklin’s 1:40.31 American record at the top of the heap. The meet comes a week before the season-ending DC Metro championships that features public and private schools. Last year, Ledecky set the American and national high school records in the 500 free but fell short of a similar swim in the 200 free. This will be Ledecky’s final high school competition, and we’re bound to see something amazing next weekend.

The Week That Was #1: Stanford’s Brock Turner arrested for alleged rape

Last Tuesday, Stanford swimming freshman Brock Turner was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman just outside the Stanford campus. He was caught be two passersby, who held him until police arrived. Not long after the arrest, Turner withdrew as a Stanford student and was removed from the Stanford swimming roster. Though the 19-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the charges today, he will have to stand trial and could face 10 years in prison. According to an article by ABC7 in the Bay Area, Turner told police that the sexual acts were consensual, though the witnesses said the woman was clearly unconscious. Though this is not the first case of an athlete accused of sexual assault, it has become one of the most public cases involving a swimmer. USA Swimming has not yet placed Turner on the list of members permanently banned from USA Swimming, but it is likely to happen.