USA Swimming 07 Open Water Women World Trials

The 10K race between the best 20 open water swimmers in the U.S. started just before 9 am until cloudy skies. The water temperature was nearly 85° with an air temperature of 82°F and 74% humidity. "It was very hot out there and hydration is very important," said Dave Thomas, Sport Development official with USA Swimming. "But this will be very similar to the weather and swimming conditions in Seville and in Beijing."

The course was a very well-marked 10K loop course in Lake Como, a man-made lake near Ft. Myers. The race included 4 loops nearly 2.5K in length with a special 400+ meter straightaway sprint to the finish chute off the main course. There were small white directional buoys every 10 meters throughout the loop course, with the ends of the loop course marked by large orange turn buoys. In all, the swimmers had to navigate around 24 turn buoys before heading to the 400-meter finish straightaway.

The 20 female Olympic aspirants ranged in ages from 14-year-old Eva Fabian of Greenwood Memorial Swim Club in Massachusetts, to former four-year Stanford All-American, Lisa Hazen at 43. Eva swam exceedingly well in placing sixth in 2 hours 3 minutes and 56 seconds, while Lisa Hazen finished 17th.

But, right from the start, the race belonged to Micha, Kirsten, Chloe and 2004 Olympian Kalyn Keller. The foursome quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field and steadily opened up an ever-increasing gap throughout the race.

50 meters from the start, Chloe took control of the race with Kirsten, Micha and Kalyn falling right in line behind her, utilizing her draft to their advantage. "I knew they (Chloe, Kirsten and Kalyn) were the ones to watch for and I knew they would take the lead," said Micha after the race. "I just took one lap at a time and wanted to be able to counter their moves." The former Huntington Beach lifeguard obviously knew what she was doing for she was never more than a foot off of either Chloe or Kirsten, drafting and bidding her time.

The foursome completed the first 2.K loop in 29:44 where it was clearly became a four-person race. Due to the exceedingly warm water and weather conditions, hydration became an important factor in the race. A series of three floating pontoons were set right off the race course where the swimmers' teammates and coaches were well-positioned to hand them water, Gatorade and gel packs. Stroke for stroke, kilometer after kilometer, the four competitors continued swimming at a punishing, but steady pace.

"I only had a whistle at the girls once," said Sid Cassidy, the head referee. "It was on the first loop and Kirsten and Micha were just bumping a little too much. I didn't give them a (yellow-card) warning, but only wanted them to separate a little bit. After that, the race was fair'"

Despite the jockeying for positioning and the boat traffic kicking up exhaust, the swimmers were relatively consistent in their stroke cycles. But, nothing was as consistent as the ability for Micha to draft off of either Chloe or Kirsten. Chloe was estimated to lead the pack for nearly 70% of the first 4 loops with Kirsten pulling the train for 20%. The remaining 10% of the time, either Chloe or Kirsten were making a move towards first, or were falling back to take advantage of the slight stream. But, whether it was loop #1, #2, #3 or #4, Micha was always right there, no further back than a few inches, or at most one foot, off of her competitors who were creating advantageous wakes and fast water for her. "You can save as much as 20% energy by drafting in the position that Micha is doing," observed Dave Thomas.

The swimmers finished loop #2 in 30:06 as they continued to battle each other. Around the second loop, though, Chloe missed a feed and had to adjust. Kalyn, on the other hand, had some excellent feeds from her coach, John Urbanchek from Club Wolverine. Kirsten and Micha continued with their plans. "I knew Chloe, Kirsten and Kalyn were going to go out strong. I just wanted to have a little extra at the end."

Loop #3 continued in much of the same manner as the first 5K: Chloe in first, Kirsten in second, Micha in third and Kalyn in fourth, with an occasional change in the lead position between Chloe and Kirsten. With so much at stake, no one was about to give an inch. Numerous times the competitors hit hands or bumped, but only one time during the first loop did head referee Sid Cassidy whistle and warn the competitors to separate.

Rick Walker, a long-time USA National Open Water Team Coach, and Dave Thomas, continued a race commentary from the lead boat throughout the race. This enabled the parents, coaches, teammates and fans who lined the edge of the lake to have a better understanding of the relative positioning of the top swimmers. As the athletes rounded the start area and feeding pontoons after every loop, they were greeted by cheer from their teammates, coaches, parents and fans. Other than that, the only sounds were the steady, smooth arm strokes of the athletes pushing themselves around the 10K course.

Swimming Smart Leads to Victory at USA Swimming 07 Open Water Women World Trials

More Race Coverage from the USA Swimming 07 Open Water Women World Trials Race

Final Results of the USA Swimming 2007 Open Water World Championship Trials Women's Race

Stroke Counts

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