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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, July 11. MISSION Viejo's Chloe Sutton made the final transition from "open water star" by capturing gold in the women's 800 free en route to her second event at the World Championships in Rome.
Sutton raced to an 8:29.34 in the event, during which she was never seriously threatened by the rest of the field. Her time, however, was off her personal best of 8:27.60. She did not need the lifetime best to hold off the field.
"In meets like this, Coach [Bill] Rose gives me signals the whole time," Sutton said. "I planned from the beginning to just go for it. Not a good time right now, but I will swim much faster when I get to Rome."
Sierra Marlins' Haley Anderson claimed the second spot for Rome with an 8:31.66. She had to hold off a hard-charging Ashley Steenvoorden of Scarlet Aquatics. Steenvoorden wound up third in 8:31.95.
Anderson joined her sister Alyssa on the World Championships team. Alyssa already made the squad via the women's 200 free as part of the 800 freestyle relay.
The event lacked some of its star power with North Baltimore's Katie Hoff and The FISH's Kate Ziegler both being absent due to health issues. The pair should have plenty of time to heal up without the World Championships to worry about.
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