Friday, August 19, 2022
#DuelInThePool Kicks Off with Open Water Relay, Australia Takes 8-6 Lead
L-R: Charlie Clark, David Johnston, Bella Sims, Tylor Mathieu
For the first time since 2015, and the first against Australia since 2007, the United States dove in for the start of the 2022 Duel in the Pool competition.
The opening day featured just one event, the mixed 4x800-meter open water relay off the coast of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, it was the Aussies who prevailed on day one, taking an 8-6 lead on the points leaderboard heading into day two.
The U.S. sent out Charlie Clark (Sandusky, Ohio/The Ohio State University/Vacationland Swim Club), Bella Sims (Las Vegas, Nevada/Sandpipers of Ohio), David Johnston (Dallas, Texas/University of Texas) and Tylor Mathieu (Hebron, Connecticut/University of Florida). It was Johnston and Mathieu’s first time donning the U.S. cap, while Sims and Clark previously swam for a U.S. relay at the 2022 FINA World Open Water Championships in June.
“It was so fun getting to swim a race in such an iconic place like Bondi Beach,” Clark said. “It is honestly a dream come true to do this. It’s been an amazing opportunity to represent Team USA. I went to the last Duel in the Pool they had in 2015 in Indianapolis, and I watched. It was two weeks before our middle school championship and I wanted to get some motivation. So, to be able to compete for Team USA the next time they have Duel in the Pool, it’s like what I said before, a dream come true.”
“It was a lot of fun, I do not have a lot of open water experience, so it was fun to gain it,” Mathieu said. “It was my first international competition, so it was very exciting to compete for Team USA. I’m going to build on that performance, I think I swam well so I am going to try and put up some good times.”
The Australian title went to the quartet of Kareena Lee, Chelsea Gubecka, Kai Edwards and Kyle Lee.
With the day one victory, Australia jumps out to an early 8-6 lead in the 2022 Duel in the Pool competition. Click here to view scoring details, while the full event schedule can be found here.
Competition resumes August 20-21 with 39 pool events. All pool events will be live-streamed on www.usaswimming.org/watch beginning at 5 a.m. ET, with video playback available anytime after the sessions end. The stream will be available to all countries excluding Australia.
For the first time since 2015, and the first against Australia since 2007, the United States dove in for the start of the 2022 Duel in the Pool competition.
The opening day featured just one event, the mixed 4x800-meter open water relay off the coast of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, it was the Aussies who prevailed on day one, taking an 8-6 lead on the points leaderboard heading into day two.
The U.S. sent out Charlie Clark (Sandusky, Ohio/The Ohio State University/Vacationland Swim Club), Bella Sims (Las Vegas, Nevada/Sandpipers of Ohio), David Johnston (Dallas, Texas/University of Texas) and Tylor Mathieu (Hebron, Connecticut/University of Florida). It was Johnston and Mathieu’s first time donning the U.S. cap, while Sims and Clark previously swam for a U.S. relay at the 2022 FINA World Open Water Championships in June.
“It was so fun getting to swim a race in such an iconic place like Bondi Beach,” Clark said. “It is honestly a dream come true to do this. It’s been an amazing opportunity to represent Team USA. I went to the last Duel in the Pool they had in 2015 in Indianapolis, and I watched. It was two weeks before our middle school championship and I wanted to get some motivation. So, to be able to compete for Team USA the next time they have Duel in the Pool, it’s like what I said before, a dream come true.”
“It was a lot of fun, I do not have a lot of open water experience, so it was fun to gain it,” Mathieu said. “It was my first international competition, so it was very exciting to compete for Team USA. I’m going to build on that performance, I think I swam well so I am going to try and put up some good times.”
The Australian title went to the quartet of Kareena Lee, Chelsea Gubecka, Kai Edwards and Kyle Lee.
With the day one victory, Australia jumps out to an early 8-6 lead in the 2022 Duel in the Pool competition. Click here to view scoring details, while the full event schedule can be found here.
Competition resumes August 20-21 with 39 pool events. All pool events will be live-streamed on www.usaswimming.org/watch beginning at 5 a.m. ET, with video playback available anytime after the sessions end. The stream will be available to all countries excluding Australia.