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The WVEC 13 NEWS Channel will be running a segment tonight
at 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM. There is a slight chance it will be
on tomorrow as opposed to today.
ULTRA-FAST LOCAL ATHLETES TO COMPETE
WITH OLYMPIANS AT ULTRASWIM
Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte,
Natalie Coughlin and Amanda Weir are just a few of the USA
Olympic Champions scheduled to compete at the Grand Prix
UltraSwim this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina.
And now Hampton Roads can cheer for a few
local swimmers too.
Joining Phelps and Coughlin on the pool
deck this year will be three young women from the Hampton Roads
Swim Club, Unique Swimming, based out of Hampton,
Virginia.
Madison Hahn (15), Gabrielle Bishop (16) and
Meaghan Holloway (19), have achieved the time standards
necessary to participate in this exciting
competition featuring the country's most elite
swimmers.
"I'm a bit nervous but really excited too",
says Gabrielle Bishop, who also swims for Nansemond-Suffolk
Academy, "We've been training hard for this meet and then
we'll be right back training for the upcoming National meets
in Irvine, California this summer."
Team mate, Madison Hahn, a sophomore and
swimmer at Maury High School, expresses it's
surreal. "It's so cool that we have this opportunity to swim
with some of the very best swimmers in the world. I don't think
it's really sunk in yet that we'll be swimming in the same
meet as Michael Phelps."
Meaghan Holloway, a freshman attending Virginia
Tech on a swimming scholarship, is still a member with
Unique Swimming and will join her team Friday morning at the
Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte.
Established three years ago, Unique Swimming is
still a young club but with head coach Marc Rios at the helm, he's
developed some of the most talented swimmers in the area. In
fact, Hahn, Bishop and Holloway will be heading out to
California in August for the big National meets. However, it
doesn't stop there because Rios is training his elite group of
swimmers for the Olympic Time Trials in 2012.
"They've got to make a commitment to the sport
first. Once they do that, I'll train them hard and provide the
necessary tools to accomplish their goals. The sky's the
limit with many of my athletes here, but they have to believe
it and want it."
Ultraswim begins Thursday May 13th and
concludes Sunday May 16th.
Universal Sports will broadcast the event
live on national TV as well as online web streaming.
Unique Swimming Athlete's Qualifying
Events:
Gabrielle Bishop: 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle,
200 Freestyle
Madison Hahn: 100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke,
200 Individual Medley
Meagan Holloway: 100 Butterfly, 200 Butterfly,
100 Breaststroke, 200 Breaststroke
For more information please visit:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/09/1424594/phelps-jones-berens-lead-star.html
http://charlotteultraswim.com/
http://www.universalsports.com/swimming/index.html
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