COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, December 7. FORTY-one top European swimmers will battle Team USA at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Atlanta, December 16-17. The competition will take place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center and will be broadcast on NBC.
The men's roster features 22 swimmers, including Olympians Markus Rogan (Austria), Laszlo Cseh (Hungary), Daniel Gyurta (Hungary) and Dominik Meichtry (Switzerland). The women's side is made up of 19 swimmers, including the Netherlands Lotte Friis and Marleen Veldhuis, Gemma Spofforth (Great Britain) and Katinka Hosszu (Hungary), A complete roster is included below.
The U.S. roster is led by Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo Calif.), and Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.). The meet will also feature 2011 World Championship gold medalists Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) and Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I) as well as Olympians Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) and Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), Brendan Hansen (Irvine, Calif.), Dana Vollmer (Granbury Texas) and Amanda Beard (Irvine, Calif.).The complete U.S. Team roster can be found online here.
The European All-Star Team's overall head coach for the Duel in the Pool will be Dennis Pursley, however, European swimmers will also have the opportunity to have their personal coach at the event.
Tickets for the event can be purchased online here. USA Swimming will add additional seats to the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center for the event but less than 3,000 seats are available for each day of the competition.
Over $100,000 of prize money will be awarded at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. Swimmers will be awarded cash prizes for wins with world records commanding up to $15,000 and gold medals commanding $1,500.
The bi-annual Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport's most exciting swimmers in a short course meters format. This is the fifth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming. Past Duels were held in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Three of the events pitted all-star teams from the U.S. against Australia and the event in 2009 saw the first competition between the U.S. and the squad of European all-stars. The U.S. is 4-0 in the history of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool.
Men
Last Name First Name Country
Bernek Peter Hungary
Biczo Bence Hungary
Brown Adam Great Britain
Cseh Laszlo Hungary
Czerniak Konrad Poland
Glaesner Mads Denmark
Gyurta Daniel Hungary
Heersbrandt Francois Belgium
Joensen Pal Faroe Islands
Jukic Dinko Austria
Kawecki Radoslaw Poland
Kis Gergo Hungary
Korzeniowski Pawel Poland
Loughran Marco Great Britian
Meichtry Dominik Switzerland
Morozov Vladimir Russia
Renwick Robbie Great Britain
Rogan Markus Austria
Takacs Krisztian Hungary
Titenis Giedrius Lithuania
Verraszto David Zoltan Hungary
vom Lehn Christian Germany
Women
Last Name First Name Country
Friis Lotte Denmark
Granstroem Anna Martina Sweden
Halsall Francesca Great Britain
Herasimenia Aliaksandra Belarus
Hosszu Katinka Hungary
Jakabos Zsuzsanna Hungary
Klinar Anja Slovenia
Kromowidjojo Ranomi Netherlands
Moller Pedersen Rikke Denmark
Murphy Grainne Great Britian
Nijhuis Moniek Netherlands
Ottesen Jeanette Denmark
Simmonds Elizabeth Great Britain
Spofforth Gemma Great Britain
Veldhuis Marleen Netherlands
Verraszto Evelin Hungary
von Rouwendaal Sharon Netherlands
Zavadova Barbora Czech Republic
Zevina Daryna Ukraine
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