Eight-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md. / Club Wolverine) will also swim in his first meet of the new year in preparation for the FINA World Championships, March 18-April 1 in Melbourne, Australia. Sixteen World Championship team members will continue their preparation in Long Beach for the trip to Melbourne, considered the top international swimming competition in the world outside of the Olympic Games. This meet is the best indicator of the stars to watch in 2008.
The 31-year-old Krayzelburg, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, returned to the pool in the fall of 2006 after taking a break following the 2004 Olympic Games. The Southern California product had shoulder surgery after Athens, but a return to competitive training was in part inspired by his twin daughters, Alexa and Daniela, who were born in 2005.
Adding to the talented field are five-time Olympic gold-medalist Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif. / Cal Aquatics) and the world-record trio from Texas: Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif. / Longhorn), Brendan Hansen (Havertown, Pa. / Longhorn) and Ian Crocker (Portland, Maine / Longhorn). Local Olympic gold medalist Kaitlin Sandeno (Lake Forest, Calif. / Club Wolverine) is also expected to compete, in addition to Olympic individual medalists Ryan Lochte, Erik Vendt, Klete Keller and Allison Wagner.
For results and wrap ups, visit USA Swimming Grand Prix Swim Meet Results.
Seventeen American Olympians are expected to compete, including: Natalie Coughlin, Ian Crocker, Brendan Hansen, Margaret Hoelzer, Klete Keller, Tara Kirk, Lenny Krayzelburg, Jason Lezak, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol, Kaitlin Sandeno, Peter Vanderkaay, Erik Vendt, Allison Wagner, Neil Walker, Gabe Woodward. International Olympians Ous Mellouli of Tunisia and Tamas Kerekjarto ofHungary, who both live and train in Southern California, are also scheduled to race.
The USA Swimming Grand Prix series exists in order to provide U.S. National Team and other elite swimmers with the opportunity to compete at a high level and prepare for the championship period of the season. There are seven stops total on the 2007 calendar. The field will prominently feature potential stars of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, including veterans Phelps, Hansen, Coughlin, Peirsol, Sandeno and Crocker, as well as rising open water star Chloe Sutton. National Team athletes will be preparing for three major international meets in 2007, including: FINA World Championships (March 18-April 1; Melbourne, Australia), Pan American Games (July 14-21; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and World University Games (August 12-17; Bangkok, Thailand).
