Open Water Olympian Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli (Tunisia) placed first in the women’s and men’s 1000y free Friday night on the first day of competition at the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming. The meet, taking place at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif., runs through Monday, January 19.
Sutton, a standout open water swimmer, led the field throughout the race to win with a time of 9:33.50, just four tenths off her best time in the event. Athens Bulldog Swim Club’s Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill.) finished second in 9:47.52 and Piranha Swim Team’s Lynette Lim (Singapore) was third in 9:56.48.
Mellouli, who won gold swimming for Tunisia in the men’s 1500m free at the 2008 Olympics, finished with a time of 8:54.17. Zane Grothe (Boulder City, Nev.) finished second in 9:09.79 and California Capital Aquatics’ Evan Virtue (Roseville, Calif.) finished third in 9:11.46.
The Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming presented by Vintage Design Incorporated continues Saturday with ten events. The competition will include prelims and finals in the men’s and women’s 100y free, 200y fly, 200y back, and 500y free. The finals session will also feature the 400y free relay. Prelims begin at 9 a.m. and finals start at 5 p.m. Race footage from the meet will be broadcast LIVE throughout the weekend on www.swimnetwork.com.