INDIANAPOLIS, IN., June 29. INDIANAPOLIS gives the sport a big hug \u2026 and has been doing so for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n
Although landlocked and bereft of a year-around warm climate, Indianapolis could easily claim the title, \u201cSwim City, USA.\u201d In those past 20 years, the city has been host to no fewer than four Olympic Trials, four National Championships, three U.S. Opens, nine NCAA Women\u2019s Championships, six NCAA Men\u2019s Championships, three U.S. Masters and the inaugural Mutual of Omaha \u201cDuel in the Pool\u201d pitting the United States versus Australia.<\/p>\n
The site of choice has been the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI. Built in time to host the swimming and diving competition for the 1982 National Sports Festival, the pool remains recognized as one of the fastest in the world. Indeed, the Natatorium has witnessed 11 world records and 90 American records. Names of swimmers who have become U.S. Olympians at the IU Natatorium are painted on one wall of the facility. <\/p>\n
\u201cIndianapolis,\u201d says Olympic great Jenny Thompson, \u201cis my favorite place to swim fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adds Stanford University men\u2019s coach, Skip Kenney: \u201cI just think it\u2019s the best place to hold a swim meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, Indianapolis will try to improve upon its record and reputation this Oct. 7-11. That is when the 7th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) \u2013 expected to draw more than 900 swimmers from more than 120 countries \u2013 will come to the city.<\/p>\n
Only this meet will not take place at the IU Natatorium, but in Conseco Fieldhouse, the NBA home of the Indiana Pacers.<\/p>\n
In less than two weeks, an eight-lane competition pool and a six-lane warm-up pool \u2013 containing a combined 475,000 gallons of water \u2013 will be built on the floor, transforming the Fieldhouse into the world\u2019s largest natatorium with a seating capacity of approximately 11,000. The depth of the competition pool (two meters) and the decking will combine to elevate the pool and bring even those fans seated in the balcony of the Fieldhouse close to the action. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just an awesome facility,\u201d said Ed Moses, America\u2019s premier breaststroker, who visited Conseco Fieldhouse in late March. \u201cTo swim in front of thousands of people in this arena, I don\u2019t think I will have ever experienced an event like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moses, Thompson, teenage superstar Michael Phelps, Lindsay Benko and Josh Davis have committed to competing in the World Championships, providing they qualify for the U.S. team. Yana Klochkova of the Ukraine and Slovakia\u2019s Martina Moravcova also have announced their intentions to compete in Indianapolis at the Worlds if they qualify through their national federations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very aware of the tradition of swimming in Indianapolis,\u201d says Klochkova. \u201cI look forward to putting on a show for the fans they will never forget. I am so excited to swim inside an NBA arena. I would never have thought that was possible. Only in America.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson, winner of more Olympic medals (10, eight gold) than any other female in Olympic history, has indicated the World Championships likely will be the last meet of her storied career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a highlight of my career if I can have that be a great experience,\u201d says Thompson. <\/p>\n
Coming six weeks after the conclusion of the Athens Olympic Games, the World Championships (25m) will allow the world\u2019s elite swimmers to extend the international focus on their sport and on their own Olympic notoriety. A worldwide telecast will carry the competition to more than 100 countries. In the United States, ESPN will broadcast more than 10 hours of live and tape-delayed competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really exciting to swim in a big arena,\u201d says Thompson. \u201cYou\u2019ll be able to hear the crowd, it will be high energy, the swimmers will swim fast and the crowd is going to love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crowds in Indianapolis always have loved swimming. For example, the 2000 Olympic Trials were a sellout \u2013 six months in advance. So was the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool.<\/p>\n
The prominence of Indianapolis in swimming is an outgrowth of the city\u2019s amateur sports initiative that began 25 years ago with the formation of the non-profit Indiana Sports Corporation. ISC\u2019s mission was, and is, to use amateur sports as a means of stimulating economic activity while enhancing the city\u2019s national and international reputation.<\/p>\n
As a result of that initiative, more than 400 national and international sporting events have taken place in Indianapolis during the last 25 years. The city also is home to a number of prominent sports associations, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Federation of High School Associations, the National Youth Sports Corporation, U.S. Diving, USA Gymnastics, US Rowing, U.S. Synchronized Swimming and USA Track & Field.<\/p>\n
ISC, Indiana Swimming and Indianapolis-area swim clubs are also skilled in the management of events. The ability to call out a small army of volunteers to support swimming events always has been one of Indianapolis\u2019s major assets.<\/p>\n
\u201cEfficiency and hospitality are trademarks of Indianapolis when hosting national, international and Olympic-related events,\u201d says Stanford University women\u2019s swim coach Richard Quick.<\/p>\n
In addition to the swimming competition during the World Championships, Indianapolis also will host the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) World Clinic. Approximately 2,000 international and national top-level, college, high school and age-group coaches are expected to attend the clinic, which will offer business, educational and motivational sessions.<\/p>\n
Then, once the swimming competition ends, the FINA World Sports Medicine Congress will convene on Oct. 12-13. Doctors, students, athletes, coaches and others will discuss popular topics in sports medicine.<\/p>\n