COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, April 9. THE United States will send 45 athletes (27 women, 18 men) to the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships, U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, announced today. Athletes were selected for the meet, Aug. 6-10 in Pasadena, Calif., based on performances at the 2014 U.S. Paralympics Swimming Spring National Championships/Spring CanAm, March 27-29, in Miami.
“This is the largest team we have taken to a major competition, which reflects how well our athletes performed in Miami,” said Queenie Nichols, high performance director for U.S. Paralympics Swimming. “We are excited to see many of our 2012 U.S. Paralympians returning to the program this year and are equally excited to have some up and coming swimmers on the team. It’s a great competition to help athletes begin their Road to Rio.”
The roster, which is highlighted by London 2012 Paralympic Games gold medalists Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.), Ian Silverman (Baltimore, Md.) and U.S. Navy veteran Brad Snyder (Baltimore, Md.), includes 19 members of the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team. London medalists Tucker Dupree (Raleigh, N.C.), Cortney Jordan (Henderson, Nev.), Rebecca Meyers (Timonium, Md.), Roy Perkins (Del Mar, Calif.) and Noga Nir-Kistler (Allentown, Pa.) will also compete at the Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships.
The U.S. Pan Pacific roster also includes 21 athletes who competed at the 2013 International Paralympic Committee World Championships in Montreal, Canada, helping Team USA to a fourth place finish in the medal standings with 33 medals. Jordan, Long, Meyers, Perkins and Silverman all won world titles last year.
The world champions reigned supreme in Miami with world records set by Meyers and Silverman and the others securing multiple victories. World records from Kayla Wheeler (Lynnwood, Wash.), 17, who competed at the 2013 world championships, and Leslie Cichocki (Palos Hills, Ill.), a relative newcomer to the program, also put them on the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championship Team.
The 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships is the largest competition of the year for U.S. swimmers. Other top events on the Road to Rio include the world championships, July 19-26, 2015, in Glasgow and the Parapan American Games, Aug. 7-15, 2015, in Toronto. The 2016 Paralympic Games are Sept. 7-18 in Rio de Janeiro.
Roster for the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championship Team
*Denotes 2012 U.S. Paralympian
^Denotes 2013 U.S. World Team member
Women
Name (Hometown)
Hannah Aspden (Raleigh, N.C.)
^Haley Beranbaum (Snohomish, Wash.)
^Reilly Boyt (Ft. Collins, Colo.)
*Brickelle Bro (Castle Rock, Colo.)
Leslie Cichocki (Palos Hills, Ill.)
Amy Chapman (Batavia, Ill.)
*McKenzie Coan (Clarkesville, Ga.)
^Cailin Currie (Danvers, Mass.)
*Anna Eames (Golden Valley, Minn.)
*^Alyssa Gialamas (Naperville, Ill.)
Lindsay Grogan (Athens, Ga.)
Sophia Herzog (Fairplay, Colo.)
*^ Cortney Jordan (Henderson, Nev.)
Serafina King (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Michelle Konkoly (Eagleview, Pa.)
Ahalya Lettenberger (Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
*^Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.)
*^Letticia Martinez (Las Cruces, N.M.)
*^Rebecca Meyers (Timonium, Md.)
*^Noga Nir-Kistler (Allentown, Pa.)
^Martha Ruether (Allegany, N.Y.)
Natalie Sims (Minneapolis, Minn.)
^Breanna Sprenger (Avon, Ohio)
^Elizabeth Smith (Muncie, Ind.)
Leanne Smith (Rowley, Mass.)
^Kayla Wheeler (Lynnwood, Wash.)
*^Colleen Young (St. Louis, Mo.)
Men
Name (Hometown)
Blake Adams (Lakeville, Minn.)
*Evan Austin (Terre Haute, Ind.)
*^ Cody Bureau (Latrobe, Pa.)
Rafael Castillo (Miami, Fla.)
*^Michael DeMarco (San Diego, Calif.)
^Tharon Drake (Hobbs, N.M.)
^Ryan Duemler (Chesterfield, Mo.)
*^Tucker Dupree (Raleigh, N.C.)
Robert Griswold (Freehold, N.J.)
*Dalton Herendeen (South Bend, Ind.)
*Curtis Lovejoy (Atlanta, Ga.)
Lucas McCrory (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Tom Miazga (Cedarburg, Wis.)
*^Roy Perkins (Del Mar, Calif.)
Roderick Sewell (Florence, Ala.)
*^Ian Silverman (Baltimore, Md.)
*Brad Snyder (Baltimore, Md.)
Joe Underwood (Phoenix, Ariz.)
A complete roster with classification information can be found here.
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