Olympians Katie Grimes, Michael Brinegar Entered in Las Vegas Open Water Champions Cup
Katie Grimes and Michael Brinegar, distance swimmers who qualified for the Olympics in the pool, will take to open water this weekend in the Las Vegas Open Water Champions Cup, from Oct. 8-10 in Lake Las Vegas.
The three-day event includes 12 races. The headline competitions are the men’s and women’s elite 10-kilometer races, which take place Friday. The top five finishers in each race will earn places on the 2021-22 Open Water U.S. National Team, which covers the period from Nov. 1 to April 30, 2022. (The three Tokyo open water Olympians – Haley Anderson, Ashley Twichell and Jordan Wilimovsky – are already on that squad).
Grimes is a Las Vegas native who swims at Sandpipers of Nevada. The 15-year-old qualified for Tokyo in the women’s 800 freestyle, finishing fourth in the final. She’s regarded as one of the emerging distance stars on the women’s side, anointed by no less an authority than her fellow Katie, Katie Ledecky. She won the 2021 junior national title in the 5k in April.
Brinegar made it to Tokyo in both the 800 and 1,500 free, finishing 17th in both events. Brinegar medaled at the 2019 World Championships in the open water team event, garnering bronze as the fourth member with the three Tokyo open water Olympians.
Also entered in the Las Vegas Open Water Champions Cup is David Heron, the Mission Viejo swimmer who won the 5K and 10K back in April in Fort Meyers, Fla.. The Sandpipers’ Ilya Karun will also swim after winning the junior 5K in April. Jacob Pishko, the winner of the junior 7.5k in April, is also entered.
Other national teamers entered in the 10K include Juli Arzave, Blair Stoneburg and Cadence Fort on the women’s side and Brennan Gravley, Dylan Gravley, T.C. Smith and Joey Tepper on the men’s.
All the info on the meet is available here.