Highly-touted Cal freshman and U.S. National Teamer Katie McLaughlin will not swim at the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin the weekend due to a neck injury she suffered on the team’s training trip.
McLaughlin, who was a part of the U.S. World Championships team last summer, injured her neck in Hawaii, where the California collegiate team has been training between academic semesters.
One of the nation’s top freshmen, McLaughlin was set to swim the 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly and 200 fly in Austin. She’s among the best American butterflyers at just 18 years of age, and was seeded 2nd in both the 100 and 200 butterfly.
Maybe the bigger story, though, is that McLaughlin is set to be a key contributor to Cal’s NCAA title defense. The Golden Bears graduated mega-star Missy Franklin after winning last year’s collegiate title, but brought in a stellar freshman class to reload, with McLaughlin central in that recruiting effort.
The California athletics department released a statement announcing McLaughlin’s scratch from the meet, noting that she has been cleared to train both in and out of the water and expressing optimism at getting McLaughlin back at full strength in competition:
Cal freshman Katie McLaughlin sustained a neck injury during the team’s recent training trip to Hawaii. She is cleared to continue modified training both in the water and on dry land during recovery, however will be held out of competition until the injury has healed. Katie will be evaluated by Cal’s medical staff on a regular basis and is expected to make a full recovery.
Being a Butterflyer means you have a greater risk for injury.
i’d guess she did it bodysurfing on Oahu. big waves there lately.
It used to insinuations about alchol use or something, nowadays it´s CAL, those loooooosers….
becoming a fan since her swim in the 800m relay at last year’s World Championships. Glad to hear the medical staff cleared her for modified training and expected full recovery. Best wishes for speedy recovery and preparation for trial.
Wishing Ms McLaughlin a speedy recovery. Her performance in Kazen showed how tough she is. Heal well.
@coaches Maybe it’s time for you to keep your day job… Cal is one of the best programs in the country and she doesn’t have to chose either/or.
Time for ms. McLaughlin to choose between Cal and going to Rio. Cal will always be there. Maybe time to redshirt or return to former coach for a saner training environment.
Seems like everyone at CAL gets some sort of injury.. Who’s their dryland/ weight training coach? That might be the real problem. Good luck Katie on your recovery rooting for you!