Notwithstanding the young and accomplished open water elite like Larisa Ilchenko, Ana Marcela Cunha, Chad Ho and Chip Peterson, Guam will play host to some very fast young guns in the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 10K race on January 12th. To compete against battle-tested Kane Radford from New Zealand, Australia’s fast Belinda Bennett and a top contingent from Canada including Zsofia Balasz and Craig Dagnall, USA Swimming will send 5 teenagers to Guam.
Eva Fabian of Greenwood Memorial Swim Club (coached by Jack Fabian), Kelly Baird of Winston Salem YMCA Swim Team (coached by Mike Brady), Deni Cullom of Mission Viejo Nadadores (coached by Bill Rose), Sean Ryan of Scenic City Aquatics Club (coached by Stan Corcoran) and Harry Stephenson of Gulf Coast Swim Team (coached by Don Henshaw) will race 4 loops of a 2.5K triangular course in Tumon Bay, Guam's most popular beach.Going mano-a-mano, goggle-to-goggle and shoulder-to-shoulder around 12 buoy turns will not only be exciting, but also an excellent proving ground for those with dreams of representing their country in London 2012. The winner will undoubtedly balance great aerobic conditioning and fast closing speed with excellent race tactics and a high degree of navigational IQ.
Despite her size, diminutive Eva Fabian, who can be seen in the red cap (towards the left) on the November 2008 cover of of Swimming World Magazine, will be someone to contend with. "I love competing in the open water," said Eva after doing well at the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile.
Up-and-coming athletes 18 year and under swimmer from Canada, Australia, China, USA, Japan, New Zealand, Bermuda, Mexico, Guam, El Salvador and Costa Rica will compete at the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in January.
2 comments:
Sean Ryan should be able to bring home a medal in 2012 for the open water. He trains like a man for his size.
We greatly appreciate your confidence in Sean and wish him very best wishes over the next 3 years. We are hopeful that he has enough opportunities to race against the world's best marathon swimmers - which is something that American swimmers do not often do. Unlike the Europeans, Australians and South Americans who all race throughout the year in various bodies of water and at various distances, American open water swimmers tend to restrict their activities to FINA-sanctioned competitions. Any open water experience Sean and other American open water swimmers can get before 2012 - even if it is 1-mile or short-distance race (i.e., under 5K) will help them gain the racing experience necessary to compete and beat the world's best.
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