A blend of U.S. national team members, international Olympians and up-and-coming talent is set to lead almost 1,000 swimmers into this weekend’s TYR Fran Crippen Memorial Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo.
The four-day meet kicks off Thursday at the Marguerite Recreation Center at 5 p.m. and will boast its largest field, said Coach Bill Rose of the host Mission Viejo Nadadores.
“We’re looking forward to it, but it’s going to be one big undertaking,” Rose said.
The meet’s results also could pack a punch. Five members of the U.S. women’s team bound for the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, in August are expected to race.
The U.S. women are the Nadadores’ Katie McLaughlin, the two-time Register swimmer of the year from Santa Margarita, Trojan Swim Club’s Haley Anderson and Jessica Hardy, Kendyl Stewart of Carlsbad and record-setting high school sprinter Abbey Weitzeil of Saugus.
Russia-bound Tom Shields (Edison), now training at Cal, also is expected to race this weekend in Mission Viejo.
The meet will mark McLaughlin’s final racing before World Championships, and she will be turned loose to a certain extent by Rose. The veteran coach said the Cal-bound swimmer is entered in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and 100 backstroke but aims to scratch a final each night to give her one event to concentrate on.
The field of international swimmers is expected to include Japanese Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima and a significant number of Canadians. Nitro Swimming, a rising club from Cedar Park, Texas, also entered several swimmers in the meet.
Finals begin each night at 5. Thursday’s limited schedule features only the women’s 800 free and men’s 1,500 free.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
