Team USA Roster Announced for 2022 Duel in the Pool
by USA Swimming
Lizzi Smith competes at the 2022 Para Swimming World Championships in Madeira, Portugal. (Photo: Ralf Kuckuck)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Swimming and U.S. Paralympics Swimming today announced the names of 27 athletes and five coaches who will represent the U.S. at the upcoming Duel in the Pool, which takes place August 19-21 in Sydney, Australia.
The pool and open water roster is headlined by Olympians Chase Kalisz (Bel Air, Md./Athens Bulldog Swim Club), Annie Lazor (Beverly Hills, Mich./Indiana Swim Club/Mission Viejo Nadadores), Michael Andrew (Encinitas, Calif./MA Swim Academy), Bella Sims (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Ryan Held (Springfield, Ill./NYAC/Sun Devil Swimming). The team also features nine swimmers who competed at last month’s FINA World Championships and combined for 16 medals at the competition.
Multiple U.S. National Team and U.S. National Junior Team members will be making their long-course-meter, international debut for the U.S. with their appearances at the meet, including Justina Kozan (Brea, Calif./Mission Viejo Nadadores), David Curtiss (Yardley, Pa./Hamilton Y Aquatic Club/NC State), Linnea Mack (San Jose, Calif./Team Elite) and others.
For the first time, U.S. Paralympics Swimming athletes will be included in the meet. Six-time Paralympic medalist and reigning 400-meter freestyle S7 Paralympic champion McKenzie Coan (Clarkesville, Ga./Loyola University Maryland) will be joined by three-time Paralympic medalist Lizzi Smith (Muncie, Ind./Western Hills Aquatic Club), Paralympic bronze medalist Jamal Hill (Inglewood, Calif./Golden Rebel Aquatics) and national team member Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, Calif./North Coast Aquatics). Coan, Smith and Hill all recently won medals at the 2022 Para Swim World Championships in Madeira, Portugal.
The U.S. team will be led by head coach Dave Salo (Irvine Novaquatics) and assistant coaches Herbie Behm (Arizona State University) and Katie Robinson (Northwestern). Nineteen-time Paralympic medalist Erin Popovich and Laura Becherer will lead the adaptive athletes at the meet in the roles of Director, U.S. Paralympics Swimming and coach, respectively. Swimming legend Aaron Peirsol will also accompany the roster as team captain.
The competition takes place August 19-21 in Sydney, Australia. Pool events will be contested at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre while the open water events will be at Bondi Beach. The Duel in the Pool competition was established in 2003 as the United States against Australia before broadening to the United States versus Europe in 2009. This year’s event will be the first rendition of the competition since 2015.
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About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
Contact: Kyle Sagendorph (719-362-6422/ksagendorph@usaswimming.org)
About U.S. Paralympics Swimming
U.S. Paralympics Swimming serves as the national governing body for Para swimming in the United States. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. Paralympics Swimming is a division of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. U.S. Paralympics Swimming is committed to promoting and growing Para swimming in the United States by enabling athletes and coaches to achieve sustained competitive excellence. In addition to overseeing domestic competition opportunities, U.S. Paralympics Swimming is responsible for the selection and training of U.S. teams for international competition including world championships, ParaPan American Games, and the Paralympic Games. Para swimming for men and women has been a part of the Paralympic program since the first Games in 1960 in Rome, Italy.
Contact: Kristen Gowdy (719-505-0901/kristen.gowdy@usopc.org.)