COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, May 7. FIFTEEN U.S. Olympians and more than 25 U.S. National Team members, including 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) and Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.), will compete at the Charlotte UltraSwim, May 14-17, in Charlotte, N.C. This meet will be the first long-course meet since the Beijing Olympics for world record-holders Phelps and Jones.
The star-studded lineup in Charlotte will be competing in preparation for the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships in July which will serve as the qualifying meet for the 2009 FINA World Championships. Phelps is entered in the 100m fly, 50m, 100m and 200m free, and the 100m back. Jones will compete in the 50m and 100m free.
The Charlotte UltraSwim is the fifth stop in the 2008-2009 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series, which will award the highest-scoring swimmer of the series with a $20,000 prize. Swimmers are awarded five points for a gold medal, three points for a silver medal and one point for a bronze medal. National Teamer and current Grand Prix Series leader Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill.) will look to extend her 47-point lead in Charlotte. A leaderboard can be found online at www.usaswimming.org/grandprix.
Also expected to compete in Charlotte are Olympians Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.), Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.), Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.), Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.), Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio), and Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.), Ricky Berens (Charlotte, N.C), Kara Lynn Joyce (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I), Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), and Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga.).
The competition will follow the traditional meet schedule of morning prelims and evening finals. The full competition schedule can be found online. Finals begin at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday and at 6 p.m. ET, Friday through Sunday. Prelims begin at 9 a.m. ET, Friday through Sunday. Tickets for the meet, taking place at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center, can be purchased on the Charlotte UltraSwim website.
Competition footage from the Charlotte UltraSwim will be broadcast by both Universal Sports and Swimnetwork.com. Universal Sports will air footage from the finals Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17 on its digital cable channel. Swimnetwork.com will provide a LIVE online stream of the Universal Sports broadcast. In addition, Swimnetwork.com will webcast the finals on Thursday, May 14, and the prelims from each day of competition. Swimnetwork.com will also feature on-demand footage of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night finals as well as behind-the-scenes interviews from the pool deck.
The USA Swimming Grand Prix Series serves as an opportunity for athletes to race against top-notch competition as they continue their preparation for the 2009 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis and the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. The last stop of the Grand Prix series is in Santa Clara, Calif., June 11-14.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 300,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
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