USA Swimming News
USA Swimming Announces U.S. Team for 2019 FINA World Junior Championships
by USA Swimming
Colorado Springs, Colo. – USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming in the United States, has announced the names of 45 young swimmers and six assistant coaches to represent Team USA at the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The five-day event will take place from August 20-25 and will feature the world’s best under-18 swimmers competing at the state-of-the-art Danube Arena.
The 45 talented swimmers hail from 39 clubs across 19 different states. Emerging talents such as U.S. National Team members Luca Urlando (Sacramento, Calif./DART Swimming) and Chase Travis (Newark, Del./Nation's Capital) will look to showcase their talents on the world stage. Urlando and National Junior Team teammate Carson Foster (Montgomery, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays) will have the fullest slate of events in Budapest, competing in five races each.
“As we look at the teams we put together, we see swimmers that are already close to or breaking world junior records,” Team USA men’s head coach Billy Doughty said. “The youth coming up through United States swimming is pretty exciting.”
Added Team USA women’s head coach Crystal Keelan: “There’s a lot of fast kids out there, but some of the swims [by junior athletes] have been a little bit shocking and pretty exciting. We’re looking forward to seeing what they can do in international competition against the world’s best.”
In total, 16 members (seven females, nine males) of the U.S. National Junior Team will travel to Hungary to represent Team USA. Swimmers such as Adam Chaney (Mason, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays), Jake Magahey (Dacula, Ga./Swim Atlanta), Claire Tuggle (Fresno, Calif./Clovis Swim Club) and Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./Nashville Aquatic Club) will don American flag caps again after their gold-medal performances at the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.
“At the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships, this roster saw opportunity and took it,” USA Swimming National Junior Team Director Mitch Dalton said. “They certainly made a statement on their journey to representing the U.S. Now it’s on to Budapest to represent our country in the best possible way, in-and-out of the pool. The team is in great hands under the leadership of Crystal and Billy and we’re looking forward to some incredible swimming.”
Nearly 20 members of Team USA’s 2016 Olympic Team competed at past FINA World Junior Championships, including medalists Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy, Simone Manuel, Chase Kalisz, Josh Prenot and Kathleen Baker. World-record holder Regan Smith appeared at the 2017 World Junior Championships, as well as current U.S. National Team members Trey Freeman, Jack LeVant, Michael Andrew, Emily Weiss and Alex Walsh.
Along with the athlete roster comes the announcement of Team USA’s coaching staff for the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships. Joining Keelan on the women’s coaching staff will be Bruce Gemmell (Nation’s Capital) Ginny Nussbaum (Long Island Aquatic Club) and Bruce Marchionda (TAC Titans). Rounding out Team USA’s men’s coaching staff will be Ken Heis (Mason Manta Ray), Ian Murray (Dynamo), Dave Schraven (Team Pittsburgh).
Swimmers were invited based on the results of the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships, which took place in Palo Alto, Calif., July 31-August 4. For the full selection criteria, visit usaswimming.org.
For more information on the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships, visit fina.org.
To view the complete U.S. roster visit the following link: 2019 FINA World Junior Championships U.S. Roster.