The Week That Was: Dressel Posts Five Wins At 2018 Mel Zajac Jr. International

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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Catch up on the notable swims from the meet and the other biggest stories across the world from this week below in the week that was!

The Week That Was #5 – Four More Join USA Roster For Open Water Pan Pac Team

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Photo Courtesy: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Competing at the French Open Water Swimming Championships, four more Americans earned spots on Team USA’s Open Water roster for the Pan Pacific Championships later this summer. Michael Brinegar, Taylor Abbott, Hannah Moore, and Chase Travis all earned spots in the 10-kilometer open water event for this summer. They join two-time Olympian Haley Anderson, World Champion Ashley Twichell, Olympian Jordan Wilimovsky, and David Heron as 10K qualifiers, with those four already having qualified based on their finishes at the U.S. Open Water Nationals earlier this year.

The Week That Was #4 – Russian Olympic Committee Signs Anti-Doping Agreement With IOC

According to the Russian news agency TASS, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is planning to sign a four-year agreement with the International Olympic Committee related to measures against violations of anti-doping regulations. ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov, who was just elected last week, confirmed that he would be heading to Switzerland this week to sign an agreement related to anti-doping rules violations. The ROC has been under scrutiny for several years following allegations of a state run doping system, with the most recent consequence the exclusion of Russian athletes from competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The Week That Was #3 – Ariana Kukors Continues To Speak Out About Civil Suit

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Photo Courtesy: The “Megyn Kelly TODAY” show

This week Ariana Kukors Smith continued to speak out regarding her newly filed civil suit against former coach Sean Hutchison, Mark Schubert, USA Swimming, and other organizations related to King Aquatic Club, this week in a segment on “Megyn Kelly TODAY.” Kukors Smith appeared with her lawyer, Robert Allard, to talk about the civil suit and what it means to her, explaining that the civil suit was about accountability. Stating that the abuse she suffered was “the worst kept secret around,” Allard acknowledged that the suit was not just about Hutchison, but also about those who knew about the abuse and failed to act. Schubert responded to Kukors Smith’s legal challenges this week with a statement of his own, denying any wrongdoing and claiming he appropriately reported about their relationship. You can see Kukors full interview on TODAY by clicking here.

The Week That Was #2 – USA Water Polo Earns Fifth Straight Super League Crown

December 18, 2017; Joint Forces Training Center, Los Alamitos, California, USA; Waterpolo: RockTape; Maggie Steffens Photo credit: Catharyn Hayne- KLC fotos

Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne

The United States women’s water polo National Team won their fifth straight FINA World League Super Final this week with a 8-6 victory over the team from the Netherlands. The match was close from the start, with the Netherlands holding a lead through the first quarter before the U.S. rallied to take the lead through the second and third quarters. The two teams were separated only by a single goal for much of the match, with Melissa Seidemann scoring in the final seconds of the third quarter to give the U.S. a 6-4 lead heading into the last phase of the match before the Dutch tied the game with only 2:27 left on the clock. Maggie Steffens and Paige Hauschild closed things out with two more goals for the States to reach the final score of 8-6. This is the 12th overall Super Final crown the United States women’s water polo team.

The Week That Was #1 – Dressel Posts Five Wins At Mel Zajac Jr. International

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The 2018 Mel Zajac Jr. International in Vancouver was underway this week, with plenty of Canadian national swimmers as well as a significant group of Florida Gators (including Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Lochte) making the trek to get some long course racing in ahead of the upcoming Pro Swim Series meet in Santa Clara. Dressel opened things up with a win in the 200 free (1:48.73) and would go on to win the 50 fly (23.69), 100 fly (52.45), 50 free (22.15), and 50 breast (27.89) before losing a close race in the 100 free on the last day of the meet. Lochte continues to work his way back to form with wins in both IM events (1:58.90, 4:15.18) and added a win in the 100 back (54.75). Canadian Olympic Champion Penny Oleksiak also collected wins in the 50 fly (26.59), 100 fly (59.12), 200 fly (2:09.96), and 100 free (54.50), while 15-year-old Isabelle Stadden had a breakout meet, sweeping the 50 (28.17), 100 (1:00.10), and 200 back (2:08.37). You can see all the recaps from the meet by clicking here.

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Thomas A. Small

5 years ago

Congratulations