ANN ARBOR, Michigan, May 7. A high-quality field, headlined by Michael Phelps, will be featured at the Eric Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix, scheduled for May 17-20 at Canham Natatorium, on the University of Michigan campus. The competition, named in honor of the former Olympian who lost his life last year after a car accident, will also include the presence of Ryan Lochte and Katie Hoff.
The event will hold its finals in the morning, a way for the athletes to begin preparation for the format they will see at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. While Phelps won seven gold medals at the World Championships in Melbourne, setting five world records along the way, Lochte won gold in the 200 backstroke with a world-record effort. Hoff, too, hopped on the record train with a global mark in the 400 individual medley.
Also expected to race are Kaitlin Sandeno, a two-time Olympian, and Robert Margalis. Both will compete later this summer at the Pan American Games in July. Also slated to compete are Kim Vandenberg and Mary DeScenza, two of the top butterfly standouts in the American arsenal.