"It's an honor to win the Grand Prix Series. It's great for the sport," Phelps said. "I'm looking forward to competing at again in Omaha for Trials in a couple of weeks."
This is the first time in its history that a running leaderboard was kept on the Toyota Grand Prix Series. The series kicked off Nov. 9, 2007 in Minneapolis and concludes with two meets in Omaha, Neb., and Charlotte, N.C., both taking place June 5-8.
"Toyota is proud to present the grand prize to Michael Phelps, an athlete who continues to achieve the highest levels of excellence year in and year out," said Keith Dahl, National Engagement Marketing Manager, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
"This series of swim competitions offered fans across the nation the exciting opportunity to see our country's 2008 Olympic hopefuls, one of the most talented group of swimmers ever assembled. Toyota is pleased to partner with USA Swimming to help bring these stars to communities across America."
With one day of competition left in both Omaha and Charlotte, Phelps mathematically secured the $20,000 prize as the top medal-winner throughout the series. Phelps competed in five of the Toyota Grand Prix Series meets, winning a total of 20 gold medals and four silver medals to earn a total of 112 points.
"We are thrilled with the results of the Toyota Grand Prix Series," said Mark Schubert, USA Swimming's National Team Head Coach and General Manager. "The scoring system and prize money created an atmosphere of excitement and competitiveness throughout the series that brought the competition level amongst the athletes to a new level."
Swimmers earned points for each medal earned at a Grand Prix meet. Gold medals were worth five points, silver earned a swimmer three points and bronze medals were worth one point. The standings integrated male and female participants. Leaders were tracked in Splash Magazine, the official magazine of USA Swimming, and at usaswimming.org.
