After releasing a preliminary list of high-profile participants yesterday, USA Swimming has released the official psych sheet for the 2013 Minneapolis Grand Prix, scheduled to run November 14-16. A slew of big names will be in action at the first stop on the Arena Grand Prix circuit, including Olympic gold medalists Allison Schmitt, Jessica Hardy, Conor Dwyer, Matt McLean and Claire Donahue.
At least a dozen other USA World Championship team members are scheduled to be in attendance, including hometown hero and Minnesota graduate David Plummer, who won the silver medal in the men’s 100 backstroke this past summer. A number of big international names will be in attendance, as well, headlined by Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Yannick Agnel, who now trains with Dwyer and Schmitt under Bob Bowman at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Olympic medalists Darian Townsend and Nikita Lobintsev will also be competing.
A number of college teams, including Purdue and Minnesota, look to be bringing full squads to this meet, likely looking to capitalize on the strong competition as their fall taper/rest meet.
This meet is significantly more loaded than last year’s competition, and the top names will be competing some decent prize money, including $500 first-place prize, $300 second-place prize, and $100 third-place prize in each event.
For the full psych sheet, click here.
I bet some of Yannick’s times are fabricated so that if they flight it, he will be in the A flight. If he used LC times, he would be in the B flight. Not sure USA Swimming would allow that for most swimmers….Bowman must have pulled some strings is my guess.
Just looked at nbac website and they didn’t swim a short course meet in may. looks like those times are fabricated. special treatment?
I am surprised to see Cielo and Bruno Fratus in Minn GP.It will be Fratus first competition after surgery.
USA Swimming would not allow fabricated times for any level swimmer.
not sure he went 45 10o fly?!? just saying
Those are his SCY times from a meet last May according to USA swimming database (21012-2013) .
His time in every event ends in a .x9? Yeah OK.
if you notice, all agnels time are __:__._9. usually idicative of fabricated times. usa swimming rounds the time standards (u know, b,bb,aaaa and all that) to the ._9’s also. still, i can’t see any reason to deny a foreigner of his caliber entry to a meet like that due to having no yards times. i think a handful of gold medals should suffice
No Katie Ledecky. 🙁
Her first meet will probably be the US short course championships.
Big schedule for Yannick Agnel in his first ever meet in yards. First ever? I’m not sure anymore. He has seed times of 1.37.99 in the 200 free, 45.99 in the 100 fly, 1.44.29 in the 200 fly, 4.16.89 in the 500 free, 1.46.79 in the 200 back, 43.89 in the 100 free. Where do these times come from???????????? Have I missed a little meet in Maryland?
Michael Andrew will probably attack a few NAG records too.
Bobo –
They are probably fabricated. I don’t believe he’d be allowed to enter the meet as an NT (No Time) so Bowman probably whipped up some fake ones. I don’t think anyone will contest his ability to go those times.
But he could have just used long course times.
You don’t think 1:43 200 free converts to faster than 1:37? Come on…
Megan Romano, Caitlin Leverenz, Michael McBroom, Arkady Vyatchanin, Michael Klueh, Tom Luchsinger, Mike Alexandrov, BJ Johnson, and Cesar Cielo are all in the psych sheet as well. This looks to be an incredibly loaded meet.