USA Swimming has announced the maximum of 8 swimmers that it will send to the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2018 will be the 3rd edition of the summer Youth Olympics, with the swimming portion scheduled for October 7th-12th.
Athletes were chosen based on their fastest times and corresponding world ranking from official Youth Olympic Games qualifying competitions (listed at the end of this article).
USA Swimming has stuck with sending its ‘next tier’ of junior swimmers to these Youth Olympic Games, as they did in 2010 and 2014, meaning that athletes who participated in the 2018 Pan Pac Championships or Junior Pan Pac Championships were not allowed to swim at the Youth Olympic Games.
In 2014, USA Swimming finished 5th in the medals table with 3 golds and 1 silver (behind China, who won 10 golds as part of 17 total medals). In 2010, the first edition, where many swimming federations were still unsure about embracing the event, the USA finished 10th with 1 gold and 2 silvers (China had 11 golds and 14 total medals to top that year’s table as swell).
The Youth Olympic Games generally centers around sports with smaller rosters than traditional versions. That means futsal instead of football, and 3-on-3 basketball instead of the full-court 5-on-5 version, and beach volleyball instead of indoor volleyball.
Athletes must have been born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003, which means all athletes are between the ages of 15 and 18.
Men’s Roster
- Will Barao (Hingham, Mass./Bluefish Swim Club)
- Ethan Dang (Renton, Wash./King Aquatic Club)
- Ethan Harder (Billings, Mont./Billings Aquatic Club)
- Jake Johnson (Lincoln University, Pa./Delaware Swim Team)
Women’s Roster
- Madelyn Donohoe (Annandale, Va./The Fish)
- Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club)
- Kaitlynn Sims (Montgomery, Texas/Magnolia Aquatic Club)
- Rhyan White (Herriman, Utah/Wasatch Front Fish Market)
Staff
- Team Leader: Mitch Dalton (USA Swimming National Junior Team Director)
- Coach: Crystal Keelan (Penn Charter Aquatic Club)
Domestic Qualifying Competitions:
- 2017 USA Swimming U.S. Open (August 2-6, East Meadow, NY)
- 2017 Speedo Junior National Championships (August 8-12, East
Meadow, NY) - 2018 Austin Arena Pro Series (January 11-13, Austin, TX,)
- 2018 Georgia Tech Pro Series (March 1-3, Atlanta, GA)
- 2018 Mesa Arena Pro Series (April 12-14, Mesa, AZ April)
- 2018 Indianapolis Arena Pro Series (May 17-20, Indianapolis, IN)
- 2018 Santa Clara Arena Pro Series (June 14-17, Santa Clara, CA)
- 2018 Ohio State Arena Pro Series (July 6-8, Columbus, OH)
What a great opportunity for these young stars. This would have been a great carrot to chase as a teen. There has often been a bit of a “lull” between Natl Jr Team and being able to score high enough at Sr Nats/other to make another squad. In summary, great addition for the swimmers.
Host country is in the middle of another major economic crisis – timing couldn’t be better!
Thought jake Johnson swam for Harvard?
TYR PSS for 2018 (not Arena)
Great place to visit. Tough time to miss school and stay a couple extra days!
How many events will each get to swim?