Friday, August 11, 2023
Americans Shine on Opening Night of LEN European U23 Swimming Championships
The inaugural LEN European U23 Swimming Championships kicked off today at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Center in Dublin, Ireland. Approximately 400 athletes from 42 federations are competing in over 1,100 races contested over the three-day event. USA Swimming is grateful to Swim Ireland and LEN (European Aquatics) for allowing American swimmers to compete alongside the Europeans in this meet for athletes under the age of 23.
Americans posted 10 podium finishes to open the meet – four first-place finishes, two second-place finishes and four third-place finishes.
Hunter Tapp (Louisville, Ky./Lakeside Swim Team/NC State) set a new personal best time and the seventh-fastest time in the world this year with his finish of 1:56.45 in the men’s 200m backstroke.
“It feels great,” Tapp said. “(Winning a race) was a goal of mine when I found out I was selected for this roster, so it’s always great to come in on the first day and first swim to achieve your goal.”
Gabriel Jett (Clovis, Calif./California Aquatics) claimed the second first-place finish of the night for the Americans with his time of 51.65 in the men’s 100m butterfly.
“It was good,” Jett said of his narrow victory. “I’m a racer at heart so I think I felt that guy next me the whole way through, and I just wanted to put my head down and win it. It was a slower time than the morning, but it’s fine because I swam it a little bit differently. I’m still happy with the win.”
The United States would go on to win the three final races of the night. 2019 FINA World Junior Champion Justina Kozan (Brea, Calif./Mission Viejo Nadadores/USC) won the women’s 200m individual medley in 2:12.98. Kozan’s last 50m (29.38) was over two seconds faster than any other competitor in the finals heat.
“It felt really nice,” Kozan said. “It was really cool (to win) for the U.S. and for all the U.S. in the stands, including my parents. They weren’t able to come to Australia last year for Duel in the Pool, so it’s great they are here.”
The night concluded with the mixed 4x100m medley relay and another American win in a time of 3:45.99. The Americans out-touched Poland for first place by .69 seconds.
“It was awesome,” Mason said. “We have a great team and were feeling pretty good going out and had a lot of fun in the ready room. It’s a good way to end the first finals session.”
The United States got two athletes on the podium in the men’s 200m freestyle when Patrick Sammon (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Aquasol Swim Club/Arizona State) finished second in 1:47.27 and Aaron Shackell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel Swim Club) finished third in 1:47.35. In the overall results, Rex Maurer (Pasadena, Calif./Rose Bowl Aquatics) finished fourth in 1:47.98, however, meet rules only allow two athletes from non-LEN nations to qualify for Finals. Though Maurer’s time places him fourth overall, he was ineligible to swim in the Finals since Sammon and Shackell had qualified with faster times.
“It’s definitely really fun,” Sammon said. Seeing the entire crowd and my family up (in the stands), and being next to Aaron (Shackell), it was just really fun.”
The United States is one of three non-European nations competing at this event and are awarded ceremonial green medals if they place. Gold, silver and bronze medals are only awarded to LEN member nations, so only to the first, second and third-place European competitors in the race. However, the LEN athletes and non-LEN athletes are standing shoulder to shoulder in the ceremony to recognize their performances, in a strong display of international sportsmanship.
Kaitlyn Dobler (Portland, Ore./Trojan Aquatics Swim Club/The Dolphins Portland) started the night by tying for third in the women’s 50m breaststroke in 30.91. Emma Sticklen (Katy, Texas/Katy Aquatics/University of Texas) also finished third in the women’s 100m butterfly in a time of 58.76 as well as Paige McKenna (Easton, Pa./Nation’s Capital Swim Club/University of Wisconsin) in the women’s 800m freestyle in a time of 8:36.60.
Isabelle Stadden (Blaine, Minn./California Aquatics) finished second in the women’s 50m backstroke in 27.98.
“The 50 backstroke is not my specialty out of the three backstroke (races), but it’s always fun to get the chance to race a 50 since it’s not an option everywhere,” Stadden said. “I would like to build off of that, but it just gives me motivation for my next couple (of races).”
Competition continues through Sunday. A complete schedule of events can be found here. Prelims start each day at 4:30 a.m. ET (9:30 a.m. local) and finals start at 1 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local time). Competition can be viewed on the LEN YouTube channel. Complete results from the LEN European U23 Swimming Championships can be found here.
Keep up with all the latest USA Swimming news by following @usaswimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check out our News Notebook which details programs, athletes and clubs that have made the headlines.
Americans posted 10 podium finishes to open the meet – four first-place finishes, two second-place finishes and four third-place finishes.
Hunter Tapp (Louisville, Ky./Lakeside Swim Team/NC State) set a new personal best time and the seventh-fastest time in the world this year with his finish of 1:56.45 in the men’s 200m backstroke.
“It feels great,” Tapp said. “(Winning a race) was a goal of mine when I found out I was selected for this roster, so it’s always great to come in on the first day and first swim to achieve your goal.”
Gabriel Jett (Clovis, Calif./California Aquatics) claimed the second first-place finish of the night for the Americans with his time of 51.65 in the men’s 100m butterfly.
“It was good,” Jett said of his narrow victory. “I’m a racer at heart so I think I felt that guy next me the whole way through, and I just wanted to put my head down and win it. It was a slower time than the morning, but it’s fine because I swam it a little bit differently. I’m still happy with the win.”
The United States would go on to win the three final races of the night. 2019 FINA World Junior Champion Justina Kozan (Brea, Calif./Mission Viejo Nadadores/USC) won the women’s 200m individual medley in 2:12.98. Kozan’s last 50m (29.38) was over two seconds faster than any other competitor in the finals heat.
“It felt really nice,” Kozan said. “It was really cool (to win) for the U.S. and for all the U.S. in the stands, including my parents. They weren’t able to come to Australia last year for Duel in the Pool, so it’s great they are here.”
The night concluded with the mixed 4x100m medley relay and another American win in a time of 3:45.99. The Americans out-touched Poland for first place by .69 seconds.
“It was awesome,” Mason said. “We have a great team and were feeling pretty good going out and had a lot of fun in the ready room. It’s a good way to end the first finals session.”
The United States got two athletes on the podium in the men’s 200m freestyle when Patrick Sammon (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Aquasol Swim Club/Arizona State) finished second in 1:47.27 and Aaron Shackell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel Swim Club) finished third in 1:47.35. In the overall results, Rex Maurer (Pasadena, Calif./Rose Bowl Aquatics) finished fourth in 1:47.98, however, meet rules only allow two athletes from non-LEN nations to qualify for Finals. Though Maurer’s time places him fourth overall, he was ineligible to swim in the Finals since Sammon and Shackell had qualified with faster times.
“It’s definitely really fun,” Sammon said. Seeing the entire crowd and my family up (in the stands), and being next to Aaron (Shackell), it was just really fun.”
The United States is one of three non-European nations competing at this event and are awarded ceremonial green medals if they place. Gold, silver and bronze medals are only awarded to LEN member nations, so only to the first, second and third-place European competitors in the race. However, the LEN athletes and non-LEN athletes are standing shoulder to shoulder in the ceremony to recognize their performances, in a strong display of international sportsmanship.
Kaitlyn Dobler (Portland, Ore./Trojan Aquatics Swim Club/The Dolphins Portland) started the night by tying for third in the women’s 50m breaststroke in 30.91. Emma Sticklen (Katy, Texas/Katy Aquatics/University of Texas) also finished third in the women’s 100m butterfly in a time of 58.76 as well as Paige McKenna (Easton, Pa./Nation’s Capital Swim Club/University of Wisconsin) in the women’s 800m freestyle in a time of 8:36.60.
Isabelle Stadden (Blaine, Minn./California Aquatics) finished second in the women’s 50m backstroke in 27.98.
“The 50 backstroke is not my specialty out of the three backstroke (races), but it’s always fun to get the chance to race a 50 since it’s not an option everywhere,” Stadden said. “I would like to build off of that, but it just gives me motivation for my next couple (of races).”
Competition continues through Sunday. A complete schedule of events can be found here. Prelims start each day at 4:30 a.m. ET (9:30 a.m. local) and finals start at 1 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local time). Competition can be viewed on the LEN YouTube channel. Complete results from the LEN European U23 Swimming Championships can be found here.
Keep up with all the latest USA Swimming news by following @usaswimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check out our News Notebook which details programs, athletes and clubs that have made the headlines.