The Week That Was: World Junior Records Close Out The Competition In Indianapolis

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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The 2017 FINA World Junior Championships came to a dramatic close this past Monday in Indianapolis, with two more world junior records falling amid tight relay races. Catch up on the final day of results from that meet and more below in The Week That Was!

The Week That Was #5 – 2017-2018 USA National Team Rosters Released

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

This week USA Swimming announced the members of the 2017-18 National Team along with the list of 2017-18 National Team Coaches. In total, the 2017-18 National Team will include 115 swimmers, all of whom finished the year as one of the top six swimmers in each individual Olympic event from the combined results of the 2017 Phillips 66 National Championships, 2017 FINA World Championships, 2017 World University Games and the 2017 U.S. Open. National Team benefits include travel reimbursement to USA Swimming arena Pro Swim Series meets in addition to training camp opportunities. A full list of opportunities available to members of the National Team can be viewed on the USA Swimming website. You can view the National Team in full here and the list of National Team Coaches here.

Week That Was #4 – Michael and Nicole Phelps Announce Second Pregnancy

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Photo Courtesy: Slaven Vlasic (Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)

This week we learned that the Phelps family will be growing by one, with Michael and Nicole Phelps announcing via Instagram that they are expecting their second child. The two had their first son, Boomer, back on May 5, 2016, just before Phelps’ historic Olympic run in Rio de Janeiro. The couple has not revealed the sex of the baby, although Boomer did share his excitement with an Instagram post of his own. You can see the original posts from the Phelps family here.

The Week That Was #3 – FINIS Signs James Guy, Olivia Smoliga

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

This week FINIS, Inc. signed two major swimmers, Olympic gold medalist Olivia Smoliga and two-time Olympic silver medalist and 2017 World Champion James Guy. Guy’s partnership was announced earlier in the week through a video released by FINIS, while Smoliga’s signing was announced just a days later. Guy most recently picked up three medals, one of each color, at the 2017 World Championships and has a total of 13 international medals to his name. Smoliga, who has eight international medals to her name, is one of the rising American backstrokers and earned two gold medals from relays at the most recent World Championships in Budapest.

The Week That Was #2 – Ray Looze Wins ASCA Coach Of The Year, Four Added To Hall Of Fame

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The American Swim Coaches Association named Ray Looze the George Haines Coach of the Year in addition to naming four individuals to the Hall of Fame on Thursday this week at a banquet in Washington. Looze was awarded the Coach of the Year honors after a successful year at the helm of Indiana University that included coaching four swimmers on the World Championship team for this summer. Among those four athletes was Lilly King, who followed up on her gold medal performance in Rio with a world record in the 100 breaststroke. Looze also served as an assistant coach for Team USA in Budapest and led the Hoosier men (seventh) and women (eighth) to top-10 finishes at the NCAA championships. You see Looze speak to Swimming World about the honor here. The Hall of Fame inductees included coaches Charlie Hodgson, Bob Mattson, Jonty Skinner and Jill Sterkel. You can read more about the inductees here.

The Week That Was #1 – FINA World Juniors End In Indy With A Bang

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The 2017 FINA World Junior Championships wrapped up last week in Indianapolis, with the final day of competition on Monday, August 28. The last night of competition was a big one for Team USA, with the country grabbing 10 medals across the last eleven finals heats. The evening was also highlighted by two fast closing medley relays, with two world junior records being broken and several teams finishing under the old marks. Highlights from the session included Japan’s Rikako Ikee setting championship records in the 100 fly (57.25) and 50 free (24.59) and Hungary’s Kristof Milak just missing his world junior record in the 200 fly (1:53.87). Team USA came out on top in the men’s 400 medley relay, with the top three teams all under or tying the old world junior record, while Canada came away with the gold and a new world junior record in the women’s 400 medley relay. You can see catch yourself up on all the coverage from the 2017 FINA World Junior Championships here.

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