Maroons again bolster Green and Gold as Duel In The Pool V USA Returns To Sydney
In what has been another triumphant year on the international swimming stage, 20 of Queensland’s elite swimmers will resume National team duties at this weekend’s Duel In The Pool at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) and Bondi Beach, starting Friday.
In a first for the return of the Duel In The Pool concept against the might of the world’s number one swimming nation, the USA, open water and para swimming have been included for the first time.
And an Australian team to be captained by two of Queensland’s greatest ever Olympic champions, in Grant Hackett and Leisel Jones.
Queensland open water pair, Noosa’s Tokyo 10km Olympic bronze medallist Kareena Lee and Yeronga Park’s Rio Olympian Chelsea Gubecka will spearhead the Australian team in an innovative 4 x 800m relay across iconic Bondi Beach alongside Queensland-born Tokyo Olympian Kai Edwards and WA’s rising star Kyle Lee.
Then Saturday and Sunday will see 18 Queenslanders – led by recently crowned World and Commonwealth Champions Mollie O’Callaghan (St Peters Western), Zac Stubblety-Cook (Chandler) and Kaylee McKeown (Griffith University) and prolific record-breaking Olympic and Commonwealth Games medal winner Emma McKeon (Griffith University) form the majority of the 26-strong Dolphins team in the pool.
There has been no rest for the Maroons contingent post the World Championships in Budapest and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in a team that will also include: Chelsea Hodges (Southport), Shayna Jack (St Peters Western), Leah Neale (Chandler), Lani Pallister (Griffith University), Mikayla Smith and Jenna Strauch (Miami), Brianna Throssell (USC Spartans), Grayson Bell and Tom Nowakowski (Somerset), Mack Horton, Cody Simpson and Brendon Smith (Griffith Uni) and Ty Hartwell and Paralympic star Will Martin (Chandler).
The Duel In The Pool concept returns after first being swum in Indianapolis in 2003, followed by Irvine, California in 2005 and Sydney in 2007 – with the USA winning all three Duels.
The program will consist of a mix of individual races, Skins events, relays and the innovative Mystery Medleys and broken distance events and while the US will be without the likes of their Superstars Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel, the might of the USA will still pose a major threat to Australia’s best.
And all eyes will again focus on Queensland’s bevy of the fastest women’s freestylers in the world with record breaking 20-time Commonwealth Games medallist McKeon returning to racing after a brief European break post her six-gold medal haul in Birmingham and leading the way alongside Jack, O’Callaghan and former Queenslanders Meg Harris and Madi Wilson - now SA training partners.
Throw in dual Olympic relay medallist Leah Neale and emerging World and Commonwealth Games medallist Lani Pallister and the Aussie freestylers will again pose a formidable force even without Olympic and Commonwealth Games golden girl Ariarne Titmus and her St Peters Western training partner and Commonwealth Games medallist Kiah Melverton.
The opportunity to see world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook in action in the 3x50m Skins and the 100m breaststroke will be a sight to behold after he added the World and Commonwealth Games gold medals to his Olympic title and world record.
And in a rare opportunity Miami breaststroke recruit Mikayla Smith will snap up the chance to join Tokyo bronze medal-winning brother Brendon on the Australian Team.
Mikayla joined World and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Jenna Strauch under Richard Scarce on the Gold Coast from Nunawading and will join her Tasmanian namesake Matilda Smith, Strauch and Southport’s Olympic gold medallist Chelsea Hodges in a formidable breaststroke crew in Sydney.
The meet will be televised on 7Plus starting at 7pm on this Saturday and Sunday, August 20 and 21.
It will be followed by the four-day Sydney Sprints – the Australian Short Course Championships – on August 24 through 27 and following the recent successful Queensland Short Course Championships.
