News
Miromar Lakes Hosts USA Swimming Open Water World Championship Trials
18 October 2007
MIROMAR LAKES, FL. - The USA Swimming Open Water World Championship Trials will be held at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club on Saturday, October 20 and Sunday October 21, 2007. This is the final North American event in a four-year qualifying cycle. Forty USA swimmers will be vying for four available spots at an Olympic selection meet to be held April 29-May 4, 2008 in Seville, Spain. The top ten swimmers in the event, (maximum of two per nation), will participate in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where the 10K open water race will debut as an Olympic event.
Miromar Lakes was chosen to host the USA Swimming Open Water World Championship Trials due to its ideal climate and lake conditions that parallel the open water competition settings in Seville and Beijing.
The athletes will traverse a 6.2-mile course in Lake Como, one of two large recreational lakes at Miromar Lakes. The USA Women's Race begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 20. The USA Men's Race begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday, October 21, followed by the twenty Canadian swimmers in a separate Trials event. The Canadian Men's Race beginning at noon and the Canadian Women's Race beginning at 12:10 p.m.
Participating female competitors include Olympian Kalyn Keller (Phoenix, AZ) and two-time National Champion in the 10K, Chloe Sutton (Roseville, CA). The men's competition will feature three-time 10K National Champion, Chip Peterson (Chapel Hill, NC), 2007 Pan Ams gold medalist Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, PA) and reigning National Champion in the 25K, Mark Warkentin (Santa Barbara, CA).
A Media Boat will be on the water along with the competitors, available on a first-come, first served basis for journalists covering the event. An open water guide will be on board to provide narration of the event.
Several storylines accompany the USA Swimming Open Water World Championship Trials:
Feeding Frenzy: Coaches provide valuable calories to their swimmers by extending a "feeding pole" into the water from a floating dock, with only carefully calculated moments to fuel the swimmer.
Swimming Outside the Lines: With the addition of open water to the 2008 Olympic program, Team USA stands to gain up to four coveted Olympic Team roster spots. Several champions competing in these Trials have successfully made the conversion from pools to open water.
A Young Star for the USA: Participating Chloe Sutton may be only 15 years old, but she is practically a veteran on the new open water scene. She's a back-to-back U.S. National Champion and tool gold in the 10K at the 2007 Pan American games.
The Crippen Family Legacy: Participating Fran Crippen is little brother to 2000 U.S. Olympian Maddy Crippen and older brother to National Team swimmer Teresa Crippen, Fran Crippen is also a Pan American, Pan Pacific Games and National medalist.
Miromar Lakes is an award-winning resort community featuring over 700 acres of aquamarine freshwater lakes suitable for waterskiing, fishing and boating, and three miles of private white sandy beach. The Beach Club includes the Blue Water Beach Grill, a European-style Spa and Fitness Center, an Arthur Hills "Signature" Championship Golf Course (Hills' only signature course in Southwest Florida), an award-winning Golf Clubhouse, and exclusive residential enclaves, including grand estate and estate homes, single-family villas, condominiums and coach homes. Prices range from $600,000 to over $6 million dollars.
Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club is located north of Naples. Take exit 123 off I-75, turn right onto Corkscrew Road, pass the International Design Center, drive a half-mile east to Ben Hill Griffin Parkway and continue 2.8 miles north to Miromar Lakes. The sales center is located outside of the gated entrance. For more information, please contact the sales office at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club at (239) 425-2340 or (877) 809-9444, or visit http://www.miromarlakes.com/.