The 2007 Toyota Grand Prix Series serves as an opportunity for athletes to race against top-notch competition and serves as an opportunity for athletes to prepare for major meets on the event calendar, as well as to continue their preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The Santa Clara Grand Prix begins on Thursday, June 28 with heats in the distance events beginning at 4 p.m. PT. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday prelims start at 9 a.m., with finals set to begin at 5 p.m. PDT. All-Session Passes are available for $20. Tickets for prelims are $3, and finals tickets are $7.
- The ‘World’s Greatest Athlete’ Heads to Santa Clara: Michael Phelps made history at the FINA World Championships just less than three months ago, claiming seven gold medals and five world records and sparking widespread discussion. Could the Baltimore-bred phenom be the greatest athlete of all time? Already finding himself in the company of athletic giants such as Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, the 21-year-old is far from finished with his already legendary career as he heads to Santa Clara to continue his preparation for the 2008 Olympics.
- Brendan Hansen – Something to Prove: It had to be a heartbreaking moment for Olympic gold medalist and undisputed breaststroke king Brendan Hansen when team doctors told him he could not swim his favorite event- the 200m breaststroke – at the 2007 FINA World Championships. Sidelined by illness, Hansen was forced to watch from his hotel room as Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima won the World Championship with a time that was 1.3 seconds slower than Hansen’s world mark. Now healthy and continuing his push toward Beijing, Hansen will swim his signature events on Friday (200m breast) and Saturday (100m breast).
- A Pool of History: Santa Clara Swim Club has hosted this invitational meet for 33 years, and has seen plenty of history made in its waters. Swimmers such as Donna de Varona, Don Schollander, Mark Spitz, Chris Von Saltza, and Pablo Morales have trained and competed for Santa Clara. In addition, the club has produced 33 Olympic gold medals, 12 silver, and 9 bronze during its proud history. In competitions at the International Swim Center throughout the years, 22 World records, 333 American records, and 57 foreign national records have been set in the 9-lane, 50-meter pool.
- Rio-Bound: California’s own Olympic gold-medalist Kaitlin Sandeno will be in Santa Clara to prepare for an immediate challenge as she winds down her training for the upcoming Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (July 14-21). The Californian returns to her home state to compete against a stacked field just weeks before departing for South America.
- Distance Events- Worth all 8 / 15 minutes: Making the distance events interesting this meet, 2004 Olympian Erik Vendt is fresh off a gold medal-winning, meet record performance in the 800m freestyle at the Mare Nostrum Series in Canet, France. Vendt, who returned from a 2004 retirement, has been training under Club Wolverine skipper Bob Bowman and continues to make a play for the 2008 Olympics. Also, in the wake of Kate Ziegler’s incredible new world record performance in the 1500m free, 2008 hopeful Hayley Peirsol will return to her home state to compete in Santa Clara. Hayley just the third women to ever break the 16-minute mark in the 1500 when she went 15:57.36 at the Pan Pacific Championships August 17, 2006.
- Stepping Up: Before the FINA World Championships in March, Ryan Lochte was best known for pushing world record-holders Phelps and Peirsol to the wall race after race, and amassing a remarkable collection of silver medals. But Lochte turned heads and shocked many when he unseated American backstroke king Aaron Peirsol and set his first individual long course world record at the FINA World Championships, winning gold and climbing to the top of the podium in the 200m backstroke. Swimming in his first national meet since the stunning upset, Florida resident Lochte will travel coast-to-coast to compete in this Santa Clara.
About USA Swimming: As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit USA Swimming on-line.
