SOFLO’s Alia Atkinson Still Golden At FINA World Cup In Dubai

By Sharon Robb

August 31, 2014—Three-time Olympian Alia Atkinson won her third gold medal in less than a week at the FINA/Mastbank World Cup Sunday at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai.

The South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer from Jamaica won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:03.26 and pocketed $1,500.

Atkinson, the top-seed in the event, had no problem distancing herself from Americans Breeja Larson in 1:04.85 and Laura Sogar in 1:06.93.

Atkinson went out in 29.66 and slowed down in the back half in 33.60.

Atkinson was also sixth in the 200-meter individual medley in 2:11.54, an event Katinka Hosszu broke her own world record in.

“It wasn’t a bad swim tonight,” said her longtime SOFLO coach Chris Anderson. “It was a race to get in better shape. She has a big day tomorrow.”

Earlier this past week, Atkinson swept the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke events. On Monday, she has the 50-meter breaststroke, where she is seeded first and 100-meter individual medley, seeded second behind Katinka Hosszu, and 50-meter butterfly left to swim.

In the World Cup Series-opener in Doha, Atkinson won the 50- (29.12) and 100-meter breaststroke (1:03.79) events and pocketed $3,000 in prize money, $1,500 for each win. She also picked up bonus points for second best performance in the sprint breaststroke.

Atkinson is fourth on the prize money and points list with $4,500 and 54 points for the series opening cluster.

Bolles alum George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago won the 100-meter individual medley in 51.79 finishing ahead of Americans Tom Shields (52.14) and Cody Miller (52.46).

Another Bolles swimmer, Carolina Colorado of Colombia, took the bronze in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:06.96.

The Hungarians dominated opening night action on Sunday.

Series points leader Katinka Hosszu and Daniel Gyurta broke world short course records and each picked up $10,000 in bonus money for a world record.

Hosszu has now collected $58,500 in three days. Gyurta leads the men’s earnings list with 14,500.

Hosszu, who broke three world records in Doha, came back and broke her own 200-meter individual medley record in 2:02.13, lowering her previous mark of 2:02.61 she set earlier this past week. She improved her backstroke and freestyle legs for the new record. American Caitlin Leverenz was second in 2:06.76.

Hosszu also won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:52.25, 50-meter backstroke in a national record 26.10 and 200-meter backstroke in 2:01.17, another Hungarian national record.

Gyurta broke his own world record in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:00.48. His previous record was 2:00.67.

In other championship finals on Sunday:

Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia won the 800-meter freestyle in 8:04.88, off her world record of 7:59.34. There were only four swimmers in the timed final heat.

Aussie Thomas Fraser-Holmes flirted with the world record in the 400-meter individual medley before falling off WR pace but winning the gold in a meet record 3:58.69. The old meet record was 3:58.84. Fraser-Holmes also won the 400-meter freestyle in 3:38.22 ahead of Serbia’s Velimir Stjepanovic in 3:38.32.

South African Chad le Clos won the 100-meter freestyle in 46.24 and won the 50-meter butterfly in 22.02.

Roland Schoeman, also of South Africa, won the 50-meter breaststroke in 26.16. American Cody Miller took the bronze in 26.38.

Inge Dekker of the Netherlands won the 100-meter butterfly in 56.03. She was the only swimmer under 57 seconds. Dekker also won the 50-meter freestyle in 23.95.

Germany’s Christian Diener won the 100-meter backstroke in 50.10 overtaking early leader and American Eugene Godsoe who took the silver in 50.14.

American Tom Shields won the 200-meter butterfly in 1:50.19, just 11/100ths of a second off his American record he set in Doha.

The meet has a field of 235 swimmers from 38 countries. The Dubai stop is the second and last of Cluster One of the FINA World Cup series.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO’s Atkinson, Bovell, Other Elite Swimmers In Dubai For FINA World Cup Second Leg

By Sharon Robb

August 30, 2014—South Florida Aquatic Club’s Golden Girl will resume her medal quest Sunday at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai.

Three-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson will try and add to her medal haul during the second leg of the FINA/Mastbank World Cup.

Atkinson, winner of two gold medals in Doha earlier this week, will compete in the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke and 100-meter individual medley.

In the series-opener, Atkinson won the 50- (29.12) and 100-meter breaststroke (1:03.79) events and pocketed $3,000 in prize money, $1,500 for each win. She also picked up bonus points and prize money for second best performance in the sprint breaststroke.

On Sunday, Atkinson is the top seed among a 14-swimmer field in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:02.91, more than 3 seconds ahead of Americans Laura Sogar and Breeja Larson. She is also seeded first in the 50-meter breaststroke in 28.94, nearly 2 seconds ahead of Sogar. She is seeded second behind Hosszu in the 100-meter individual medley in 58.42.

Bolles’ Carolina Colorado of Colombia will also compete in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events. She won two bronze medals and $1,000 in Doha.

Heading the field is Hungarian Katinka Hosszu, who broke three short course world records and a suitcase-full of medals of every color. She won ten medals including seven gold.

“I am excited to be back in Dubai,” the Iron Lady said. “I’m happy with how I went in Doha but I want to set more world records. I’m feeling good.

“I missed a couple of world records in Doha so I hope to get them here,” Hosszu said.

Others in the field are South African Chad le Clos, Tunisia’s Ous Mellouli and Gergo Kis of Hungary, Aussie Thomas Fraser-Holmes and Bolles alum George Bovell of Trinidad & Tobago.

It is the fourth time Dubai will host the World Cup Series. A field of 235 swimmers from 38 countries will compete over two days.

The Dubai stop is the second and last of Cluster One of the FINA World Cup three-cluster series.

In other World Cup news, the Guinness Book of World records recognized the United Arab Emirates Al Jasmi brothers, the night before the Dubai meet.

The four brothers Obaid, Saeed, Bakheet and Faisal, competed on the 400-meter freestyle relay together at the 2010 World Short Course Championships in Dubai, a first in swimming. It was the first time a full set of brothers competed on the same relay at a world championship.

The foursome finished 14th out of 15 teams in 3:35.72.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

Clearwater’s Aitchison Takes Bronze; Kopas, Evdokimov Make “A” Final At Junior Pan Pacs

By Sharon Robb

August 30, 2014—After just missing two medals, Canadian Alexandra Aitchison of Clearwater Aquatics won her first major international medal Friday night at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships at Kihei Aquatic Center in Maui, Hawaii.

Aitchison won a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle in a lifetime-best 4:11.16. She lowered her previous best time of 4:13.33. Aitchison qualified sixth in morning prelims in 4:15.42.

In the final women’s event of the night, Aitchison anchored her country’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay that finished fourth in 3:45.79.

Aitchison is having a good meet for Canada. She just missed a medal in the 200-meter freestyle placing fourth in a lifetime-best 2:00.81. She was fourth in the 800-meter freestyle in 8:41.90, another lifetime-best.

Aitchison also qualified for the 100-meter freestyle “B” final (57.91) and 400-meter individual medley “A” final (4:55.08) but scratched for her team in order to swim the 800-meter freestyle relay where she swam leadoff for the relay that finished in 8:12.75.

In Saturday morning prelims, Aitchison was the 12th fastest qualifier in the 50-meter freestyle in a best time 26.74, dropping from 26.84 and will swim the “B” final. Aitchison is also the fifth seed in the 1500-meter freestyle.

Also in morning prelims, Swim Fort Lauderdale’s Emily Kopas was the fourth fastest swimmer in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:31.79 and will swim late Saturday night in the “A” final. She was the second U.S. qualifier.

U.S. teammate Alex Evdokimov of Coral Springs Swim Club also made the “A” final, qualifying eighth in a best time 2:17.70, dropping from 2:21.77.

Azura Florida Aquatics’ Mateo Gonzalez, representing Mexico, finished eighth in the 100-meter butterfly in 54.71, another lifetime-best. He qualified in 55.03, lowering his previous best of 55.24.

It was Gonzalez second appearance in the championship finals.

Gonzalez also qualified for the 100-meter backstroke final on opening night in 58.71 and finished eighth in finals in 58.04.

Both Song An and Gonzalez were members of Mexico’s seventh place 4×100-meter freestyle relay team (3:30.82).

Mexican teammate Andy Song An of Bolles was sixth in the 200-meter backstroke in a best time 2:04.37. Song An had qualified sixth in morning in a then lifetime-best 2:04.66, bettering his previous best time of 2:05.25.

In Thursday’s prelims, Song An was 18th in the 100-meter freestyle in 53.25. He was also a member of the 4×200-meter freestyle which finished seventh in 7:53.56.

In Saturday’s prelims, Gonzalez qualified tenth and Song An 16th in the 200-meter individual medley.

In Friday night’s finals,

American Courtney Harnish overtook early leader Tamsin Cook of Australia to win the 400-meter freestyle in a best time 4:09.36, dropping from 4:12.20. Cook took silver in 4:10.91.

Liam Egan of Team USA, winner of the 1500 freestyle on opening night, won the 400-meter freestyle in 3:52.59. He moved ahead of China’s early leader Li Yongwei. American Aidan Burns took silver in 3:53.10 and Aussie Joshua Parrish won bronze in 3:53.85.

Top-seed Suzuka Hasegawa of Japan won the 100-meter butterfly in 58.91. Aussie Christina Licciardi took silver in 59.36 and Japan’s Rikako Ikee took the bronze in 59.50.

American Alex Valente won the 100-meter butterfly in 52.60, just missing the junior world record. U.S. teammate Andrew Seliskar was second in 53.14 and New Zealand’s Bradlee Ashby was third in 53.81.

Japan’s Rio Shirai and Rika Yuhara went one-two in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:11.67 and 2:12.51 respectively. Korea’s Dalin Lee took the brone in 2:13.24.

Americans Connor Green and Corey Okubo went one-two in the 200-meter backstroke in 1:59.60 and 2:01.17. Canadian Markus Thormeyer took the bronze in 2:01.55.

The Aussie women and U.S. men won the 4×100-meter freestyle relays.

The five-day meet continues late Saturday night with the final schedule for pool events. The 10K open water events are Sunday. The Pan Pacific Championships open water events will also be held after being postponed in Australia because of bad weather condition.

Team USA leads a field of eight countries that includes Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. The charter nations are the U.S., Australia, Japan and Canada.

The Jr. Pan Pacs are being live-streamed at usaswimming.org. Results can also be found on Meet Mobile. Finals are 11 p.m. east coast time. The open water events begin 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

Swim FTL’s Kopas Wins “B” Final; Azura’s Gonzalez, Clearwater’s Aitchison, Bolles Song An Make Finals At Junior Pan Pacs

By Sharon Robb

August 29, 2014—It was a great day for Florida swimmers in the international spotlight at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships at Kihei Aquatic Center in Maui, Hawaii.

Emily Kopas of Swim Fort Lauderdale, competing in her first major international meet for Team USA, won the “B” final of the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:09.35, lowering her seed time of 1:09.94. Her time would have placed her fourth in the championship final.

Kopas was fourth fastest qualifier in the 100-meter breaststroke in prelims but was dropped into the “B” final after two of her teammates, Lilly King and Jorie Caneta, qualified first and third respectively. Only the top two from each country qualifies for the championship finals. King (1:07.98 meet record) and Caneta (1:08.68) finished 1-2 in the finals late Thursday night.

Azura Florida Aquatics’ Mateo Gonzalez, representing Mexico, qualified for the 100-meter backstroke final on opening night in 58.71 and finished eighth in finals in 58.04.

On Friday morning, Gonzalez qualified for his second final in the 100-meter butterfly in a lifetime-best 55.03, lowering his previous best of 55.24.

Mexican teammate Andy Song An of Bolles qualified sixth in Friday morning’s prelims of the 200-meter backstroke in a lifetime-best 2:04.66, bettering his previous best time of 2:05.25.

In Thursday’s prelims, Song An was 18th in the 100-meter freestyle in 53.25. He was also a member of the 4×200-meter freestyle which finished seventh in 7:53.56.

Canada’s Alexandra Aitchison of Clearwater Aquatic Team (CAT) just missed a medal in the 200-meter freestyle placing fourth in a lifetime-best 2:00.81. She was fourth in the 800-meter freestyle in 8:41.90, another lifetime-best.

Aitchison also qualified for the 100-meter freestyle “B” final (57.91) and 400-meter individual medley “A” final (4:55.08) but scratched in order to compete for the 800-meter freestyle relay. Aitchison swam leadoff leg for the relay that finished in 8:12.75.

On Friday morning, Aitchison qualified sixth in the 400-meter freestyle in 4:15.42.

In Thursday’s night finals, Team USA continued its assault in the medal race winning seven of eight gold medals for the second consecutive night.

After the first two days, Team USA has 14 of 16 gold medals, six of 16 silver and five of 16 bronze medals. No other team is even close to the Americans.

In the girls’ 100-meter freestyle, Aussie Shayna Mack came from behind to win in 54.82 ahead of China’s Menghu Zhu.

In the boys’ 100-meter freestyle, Paul Powers and Blake Pieroni went one-two in the final for Team USA and teammate Townley Haas went best-time 49.55 in the “B” final to earn the anchor leg assignment on the 4×100-meter medley relay.

Connor Hoppe of Team USA won the boys 100-meter breaststroke in 1:01.68. He was fifth at the turn but negative split 29.49 on the final 50.

U.S. team captain Ella Eastin won the 400-meter individual medley in 4:43.13. She led from wire-to-wire.

In the boys 400-meter individual medley, Andrew Seliskar and Curtis Ogren finished one-two in the final. Seliskar won in a best time 4:16.05 followed by Ogren in a best time 4:17.70. Team USA also swept the top two places in the “B” final with Sean Grieshop and Corey Okubo.

Team USA swept the girls and boys 4×200-meter freestyle relays.

The five-day meet continues late Friday night.

Team USA leads a field of eight countries that includes Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. The charter nations are the U.S., Australia, Japan and Canada.

The Jr. Pan Pacs are being live-streamed at usaswimming.org. Results can also be found on Meet Mobile. Prelims are 3 p.m. and finals are 11 p.m. east coast time.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO’s Alia Atkinson Wins Second Gold At FINA World Cup

By Sharon Robb

August 28, 2014—Alia Atkinson of South Florida Aquatic Club won her second gold medal in two days at the FINA/Mastbank World Cup Thursday in Doha, Qatar.

A day after winning the 100-meter breaststroke, she added the sprint title capturing the 50-meter breaststroke in 29.12.

The three-time Jamaican Olympian finished 7/10ths ahead of American Breeja Larson in 29.87. The former and current Texas A&M swimmers were the only two under 30 seconds. University of Florida alum Hilda Luthersdottir took the bronze in 30.67.

On Wednesday night, Atkinson, 25, won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:03.79, also ahead of Larson in 1:05.06 and Luthersdottir in 1:06.88. Atkinson scratched from the 100-meter individual medley.

Atkinson pocketed $3,000 in prize money for two days’ work. Atkinson also earned the second best performance for her 50 breaststroke swim for 18 bonus points.

Bolles’ Carolina Colorado of Colombia picked up two bronze medals in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events and $1,000 in prize money.

Hungarian Katinka Hosszu and South African Chad le Clos, defending series champions, are the overall points and prize money list leaders after the opening meet of the series cluster.

Hosszu has 189 points and earned $42,500, buoyed by her trio of 20-point world record bonuses from her IM world record sweep. Inge Dekker is second with 60 and $6,000; Mireia Belmonte Garcia with 45 and $5,500 and Atkinson with 42 points and $3,000.

Le Clos has 54 points and $4,500 followed by Thomas Fraser-Holmes with 48 and $6,000 and Daniel Gyurta with 48 and $3,000.

In other championship finals:

Hungarian Gergo Kis won the 1500-meter freestyle in 14:50.24, just finishing ahead of Velimir Stjepanovic of Serbia in 14:50.92. Tunisian Ous Mellouli took bronze in 14:51.87.

Hungarian Katinka Hosszu broke her second world record of the day, winning the 400-meter individual medley and breaking her own world record in 4:20.83. She broke the 100-meter individual medley in prelims. Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia was second in 4:25.85 and American Caitlin Leverenz was third in 4:29.59.

Inge Dekker of the Netherlands won the 100-meter freestyle in 52.61 a day after she won the 50 freestyle. Hosszu scratched from the event.

Aussie Thomas Fraser-Holmes won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:41.92.

Daniel Gyurta of Hungary won the 100-meter breaststroke in 57.04 ahead of American Cody Miller in 57.25.

Le Clos won the 100-meter butterfly in 48.70 ahead of American Tom Shields in 49.23. Le Clos just missed the world record bonus of $10,000 by 2/10ths of a second.

Hosszu, aptly nicknamed Iron Lady, won the 100-meter backstroke in 56.06 after coming off the 400 IM. Daryna Zevina of the Ukraine took silver in 57.80 and Bolles’ Carolina Colorado took bronze in 58.60.

Eugene Godsoe was the first American to win a gold medal, edging Aussie Bobby Hurley in the 50-meter backstroke in 23.22.

Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain knocked off Hosszu to win the 200-meter butterfly in 2:03.39. Hosszu finished second in 2:04.55.

Aussie Thomas Fraser-Holmes picked up his fourth gold medal of the Doha meet in the 200-meter individual medley in 1:53.92.

Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain won her second straight title in the 400-meter freestyle in 4:00.91.

American Josh Schneider won his first World Cup title in the 50-meter freestyle in 21.07. George Bovell of Trinidad & Tobago and Poland’s Konrad Czerniak tied for second in 21.43.

American Breeja Larson won the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:20.71. Only four women were in the field. Luthersdottir took silver in 2:23.70.

Competing in her fourth event of the day, Hosszu won the 100-meter individual medley in 57.34, 1/10th of a second off the world record she broke in prelims.

Christian Diener of Germany won the 200-meter backstroke in 1:50.20. Shields was second in 1:51.40.

Dekker won her fourth gold medal of the meet, winning the 50-meter butterfly in 25.27. Hosszu took bronze in 26.38.

Austria, China and Switzerland were the top three finishers in the 4×50-meter relay. Austria won in 1:34.47 with Martin Spitzer, Lena Kreundl, Gottfried Eisenberger and Lisa Zaiser.

The series now moves to Dubai on Sunday and Monday, the last site of Cluster One.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

Swim Fort Lauderdale’s Kopas Fourth Fastest, Makes “B” Final; Bolles Song An Seventh At Junior Pan Pacs

By Sharon Robb

August 28, 2014—University of Michigan-bound Emily Kopas, competing in her first major international meet for the U.S., was the fourth fastest swimmer in the 100-meter breaststroke Thursday morning at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships at the Kihei Aquatic Center in Maui, Hawaii.

Kopas, 18, of Swim Fort Lauderdale, despite qualifying fourth in 1:10.92, slipped into the “B” final after two of her U.S. teammates, Lilly King and Jorie Caneta, qualified first and third respectively.

Only the top two from each country qualify for the championship finals so Kopas will swim the consolation final late Thursday night.

Alex Evdokimov, 18, of Coral Springs Swim Club, finished 19th in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke in 1:03.95, just off his seed time of 1:03.34.

In Wednesday’s opening night finals:

Bolles Andy Song An of Mexico finished seventh in the 100-meter backstroke finals in 57.52 after going 57.16 in prelims.

The U.S. team cleaned up, winning seven of eight gold medals and 15 of 16 possible medals. The girls team is being coached by Bolles head coach Sergio Lopez. Gator Swim Club’s Jaime Lewis is an assistant coach.

The only event the U.S. team did not win was the women’s 200-meter butterfly won by Japan’s Haruno Ito in 2:09.02.

The other event the U.S. did not win the maximum two medals was the girls’ 100-meter backstroke. Three of the best U.S. junior swimmers went to the Youth Olympics including Kopas’ future University of Michigan teammate Clara Smiddy of AquaKids Sharks.

Katie Drabot of Ouzakee Aquatics won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:58.73.

Townley Haas of NOVA of Virginia Aquatics broke the meet record in the 200-meter freestyle winning in 1:48.32.

Amy Bilquist of Carmel Swim Club won the 100-meter backstroke in 1:01.00.

Connor Green of Bluefish Swim Club won the 100-meter backstroke in 55.08 and Michael Andrew of Indie Swimming was second in 55.81.

Top-seed Andrew Seliskar of Nation’s Capital Swimming won the 200-meter butterfly in a meet record 1:55.92.

Sierra Schmidt of North Baltimore Aquatic Club won the 800-meter freestyle in 8:34.71.

Liam Egan of Crimson Aquatics won the 1500-meter freestyle in 15:15.53.

The five-day meet continues late Thursday night with finals. Team USA leads a field of eight countries that includes Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. The charter nations are the U.S., Australia, Japan and Canada.

Kopas and Evdokimov, headed to Cornell, are the only Florida Gold Coast swimmers on the team.

The Jr. Pan Pacs are being live-streamed at usaswimming.org. Results can also be found on Meet Mobile. Prelims are 3 p.m. and finals are 11 p.m. east coast time.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

SOFLO’s Alia Atkinson Wins Gold; Hosszu Breaks World Record On Day One Of FINA World Cup

By Sharon Robb

August 27, 2014—South Florida Aquatic Club’s Alia Atkinson took up where she left off in her breakthrough 2013 FINA World Cup Series at the FINA/Mastbank World Cup Wednesday in Doha, Qatar.

The three-time Jamaican Olympian topped an impressive women’s field to win the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Hamad Aquatic Centre.

Atkinson, 25, won in 1:03.79 ahead of Texas A&M’s Breeja Larson in 1:05.06 and University of Florida alum and 2012 Olympian Hilda Luthersdottir of Iceland in 1:06.88. Larson is competing in her first year as a pro.

Atkinson went out in 30.18 and came home in 33.61 for the fastest splits in the race. It was less than a second off last year’s season-best from a year ago in 1:02.91. She picked up $1,500 for first place.

Atkinson has the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter individual medley left to swim on Thursday. Atkinson is tied for fourth with three other swimmers in prize money and tied for sixth in the standings with 12 points.

Defending women’s series champion Katinka Hosszu already leads the standings by 50 points after her opening-day performance.

Hosszu totaled 74 points after winning four golds, one bronze and world record swim in the 200-meter individual medley in 2:02.61. She broke her own record of 2:03.20. American Caitlin Leverenz was a distant second in 2:07.11.

It was the third time Hosszu broke the short course meters world record. She also has seven of the top eight performances in the short course event.

Her world record came after winning the 200-meter freestyle (1:51.41, World Cup record) and 50-meter backstroke (26.18) and taking bronze in the 800-meter freestyle (8:29.48). She also won gold in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:01.60.

Hosszu won $16,500 on opening night including $10,000 for a world record bonus.

Last year Atkinson finished ranked second behind Hosszu and earned her biggest paycheck in swimming ($136,000 overall).

Defending men’s series champion Chad le Clos of South Africa is tied with Aussie Thomas Fraser-Holmes for first place with 24 points. Each won two individual events.

Trinidad & Tobago’s George Bovell is tied for fifth with 12 points after winning gold in the 100-meter individual medley in 52.80 ahead of South African Leith Shankland in 53.77.

In other championship finals:

Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia opened the evening races with a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle in 8:14.99. Only five women were in the field. Liechtenstein’s Julia Hassler took silver in 8:18.37.

Aussie Thomas Fraser-Holmes won the 400-meter individual medley in 4:00.39. Hungarian David Verraszto took silver in 4:02.53 and Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia took the bronze in 4:07.99.

Le Clos of South Africa won the 100-meter freestyle in 46.29 followed by Poland’s Konrad Czerniak in 46.52 and Steffen Deibler of Germany in 47.22.

Roland Schoeman of South Africa won the 50-meter breaststroke in 26.35. It was his ninth consecutive World Cup win in the event.

Inge Dekker of the Netherlands won the 100-meter butterfly in 56.05.

In one of the more exciting races, Germany’s Christian Diener won the 100-meter backstroke in 50.49 holding off American Eugene Godsoe in 50.57.

American Tom Shields, coming off the Pan Pacific Championships, won the 200-meter butterfly in an American short course record of 1:50.08, breaking his own record of 1:50.61 he set in 2013 in Glasgow at the Duel in the Pool.

Fraser-Holmes came back to win his second event of the night in the 400-meter freestyle in 3:39.30.

Dekker won her second event in the 50-meter freestyle in 24.04.

After exchanging the lead several times with Germany’s Marco Koch, Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta won the 200-meter breaststroke in a meet record 2:01.06. Koch took silver in 2:01.71

Le Clos won his second event in the 50-meter butterfly in 22.17, ahead of Shields in 22.63.

Finland, one of four teams in the field, won the mixed 4×50-meter medley relay in 1:42.26 with Anni Alitalo, Jenna Laukkanen, Riku Poytakivi and AriPekka Liukkonen. Switzerland took silver in 1:44.95 and China was third in 47.44.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

SOFLO’s Alia Atkinson Among Field At FINA/Mastbank World Cup

By Sharon Robb

August 26, 2014—South Florida Aquatic Club’s Alia Atkinson, coming off the Commonwealth Games, will resume her international schedule Wednesday at the FINA/Mastbank Swimming World Cup at the Hamad Aquatic Centre in Doha, Qatar.

The three-time Jamaican Olympian will compete in the 50-meter breaststroke on Day One and 100-meter breaststroke and 100-meter individual medley on Day Two.

Atkinson will be joined by her longtime SOFLO coach Chris Anderson. The pair have been training at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines since she brought home a silver and bronze medal in her third Commonwealth Games appearance in Scotland.

Doha is the first stop in the 2014 calendar with the competition moving to Dubai for Cluster One, Hong Kong and Moscow for Cluster Two and Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore for Cluster Three over two months from August to early November.

The field has 150 swimmers from 30 countries including two of the top three men’s finishers and all three women’s finishers on the 2013 World Cup circuit. The competition pool is 25 meters.

Atkinson finished second in the standings behind three-time Hungarian Olympian Katinka Hosszu, reigning World Cup series champion. Hosszu set six world records and won 32 events to total 537 points. Atkinson took home her biggest paycheck in swimming.

Eight Americans, coming off senior nationals and Pan Pacific Championships, are also entered. They are Breeja Larson, Josh Schneider, Mike Alexandrov, Eugene Godsoe, Laura Sogar, Cody Miller and Caitlin Leverenz.

Atkinson and Larson, a former and current Texas A&M swimmer, will go head-to-head in the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter individual medley.

Other top international swimmers entered are reigning World Cup champion Chad le Clos, Steffen Deibler, Roland Schoeman, Inge Dekker, Mireia Belmonte, Daniel Gyurta, Ous Mellouli, Robert Hurley, Marieke D’Cruz, Daryna Zevina and Bolles alum George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago.

Mellouli, representing Tunisia, was unable to compete at Pan Pacs because his visa arrived late.

Nearly $2 million in prize money will be distributed during the seven-meet series. First place finishers win $1,500, runner-up earns $1,000 and third place gets $500.

The first cluster that includes Doha and Dubai later this week, will award $300,000 in overall prize money. The money will be distributed among the six highest scoring men and women in each cluster, depending on whether they compete in each meet in that particular cluster.

Each world record swims earns 20 bonus points.

Qatar is pulling out all stops to make sure the meet is successful.

“We have so many fantastic swimmers here,” said Khaleel al-Jabir, president of the Qatar Swimming Association.

“As the first stop in the series we know that swimmers are looking to put their training to the test at our world-class swimming facility. It’s also a great chance for fans around the world to celebrate the sport of swimming and all the hard work these athletes put in.”

FINA officials are using Atkinson’s image in his promotional material for the series including huge posters at the host hotel and pool. She is also featured on the cover of the Team Leaders guide.

The FINA website is live-streaming the meet.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

Florida Gold Coast Swimmers, Bolles Coach Ready For Junior Pan Pacs

By Sharon Robb

August 26, 2014—Before leaving for their first year of college, breaststrokers Emily Kopas of Swim Fort Lauderdale and Alex Evdokimov of Coral Springs Swim Club will represent the United States at the Junior Pac Pacific Championships.

The five-day meet begins Wednesday at the Kihei Aquatic Center in Maui, Hawaii.

Team USA leads a field of eight countries that includes Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. The charter nations are the U.S., Australia, Japan and Canada.

The meet is for swimmers age 13-18 from non-European federations.

Like last week’s Pan Pacific Championships in Australia, Team USA is expected to dominate the medal count based on the psych sheet.

The rules mirror the Pan Pacs with only two swimmers from each country allowed to advance into the championship final and three for the “B” finals.

Team USA has 23 men and 23 women. They gathered in Los Angeles before leaving for Hawaii.

Bolles coach and Olympian Sergio Lopez is coaching the women’s team. Jaime Lewis of Gator Swim Club is an assistant coach.

Kopas and Evdokimov are the only Florida swimmers on the team.

Kopas, 18, a University School of Nova alum, headed for the University of Michigan, is the fifth seed (1:09.94) in the 100-meter breaststroke on Thursday. U.S. teammate Lilly King of Newburgh Sea Creatures is top seed in 1:08.12.

Kopas is seeded fourth in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:29.53 on Saturday. Japan’s Runa Imai, only 13, is seeded first in 2:24.00. Last year as a 12-year-old she swam 2:25.14. She is one of the youngest swimmers in the meet.

Kopas recently won her first major national title at the USA Swimming Speedo Junior National Championships in the 200-meter breaststroke in a lifetime-best 2:29.53. It was the first time the junior national team member, high school state champion and All-American cracked the 2:30 barrier.

Cornell-bound Evdokimov, 18, a Taravella graduate, is seeded 12th in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:03.34. American Connor Hoppe, 17, of Clovis Swim Club is seeded first in 1:01.84. Evdokimov is seeded 14th in 2:21.77. U.S. teammate Cody Taylor, 18, of Donner Swim Club is seeded first in 2:12.73.

At senior nationals, Evdokimov was 24th in 1:04.17 in the final after going a best time 1:03.34 in morning prelims. He was disqualified in the 200 breaststroke and was 67th in the 50 breaststroke in 30.02.

Lopez is one of the nation’s top USA Swimming club and high school coaches. He joined the Bolles staff in 2007. He had 17 swimmers with Bolles ties at the 2012 London Olympics and has coached the high school teams to national and high school titles.

The Pan Pacs 10K, postponed in Southport, Australia because of high levels of E.coli in the water, will be held on the final day of the meet along with the Jr. Pan Pacs events on Sunday at 2 p.m. east coast time. Clearwater’s Becca Mann will compete in the rescheduled Pan Pac women’s race and is a medal favorite after an extra week’s rest.

Wednesday’s events are 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter butterfly, 800-meter freestyle and 1500-meter freestyle.

For those swim fans who wish to remain sleep-deprived after watching last week’s Pan Pacs live-streamed from Australia, the Jr. Pan Pacs will also be live-streamed at usaswimming.org. Results can also be found on Meet Mobile.

Prelims are 3 p.m. and finals are 11 p.m. east coast time.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Amber Hunter

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Amber Hunter

High School: West Broward

College: New York University

Amber Hunter said goodbye to her second family last week.

The longtime Comets Swim Team and South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer left for college and next chapter in her life.

“Today was my last official practice with SOFLO,” Hunter wrote on her Facebook page.

“I can’t even begin to say how thankful I am to have been a part of such an amazing team for the past ten years.

“The pool became my home and my teammates became my family. I’ll miss it incredibly but I’m excited for what the future has in store.”

Hunter started swimming with the Comets ten years ago. She was a top butterflier, ranked among the state’s Top 75 swimmers and was one of the club’s Nike Swimmers of the Month.

“Ten years is a long time,” Hunter said. “It’s hard to remember not swimming and being around everybody.”

She got her introduction to the pool when her mom Terri signed her up for lessons at a Pennsylvania pool. When she and her family moved to South Florida, she joined the Comets.

“I guess I liked it and we continued,” Hunter said.

“When we first moved to Florida I really enjoyed the sport,” Hunter said. “I did a few other sports (soccer and softball) but I stuck with swimming.”

The hard part for Hunter during the team’s annual banquet and her final week of practice with her longtime teammates and coaches was knowing it was probably all for the last time, at least until the holiday break.

“I’m not really saying goodbye, I know I will see them,” Hunter said. “I will keep in touch with my close friends and will be able to see how they are doing. It’s not a serious goodbye, I know I will be back.

“I know it will be a change for sure. It is bittersweet. I am going off to college with bigger goals but I am leaving SOFLO/Comets where I got my start.”

When Hunter started searching for colleges, academics was always the priority for the aspiring writer. She would like to write fiction novels and get involved with publishing and editing other novels.

“Academics was the first thing I wanted and I wanted a college that had the major I wanted,” she said.

“NYU did offer Division 3 swimming and has a sanctioned team,” Hunter said. “I have the best of both worlds with academics and swimming.

“Division 3 is a little bit of a different atmosphere. There is less stress on swimmers. It’s for swimmers who want to be there since there are no swimming scholarships.”

Hunter has plenty of memories from club and high school swimming. Her sophomore year West Broward had a strong 400-yard freestyle relay. “That was a fun relay to race at state,” she said.

“My senior year I made state in the 100 butterfly and finished tenth, second in consolations,” Hunter said. “I didn’t get the times I wanted exactly but I had a lot of fun.

“Swimming really helped me learn a lot of lessons when I was growing up. I learned how to manage my time and about dedication. I think that’s why I stayed in the sport so long. I was focused on my goals and putting in the work paid off in the end.

“It was a lot of fun being part of a team. The team dynamic was great and so was the atmosphere. It was a great thing to be able to stay with a team for so long. I know I am going far away but I am looking forward to the challenge and starting the next chapter of my life.”

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com