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Swimmers Sent Home as US Olympic Training Center Shut Down by State Order

A group of United States-based National Team and Junior National Team swimmers who were training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs are heading home after the state ordered the facility to close in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a source told SwimSwam.

Many of the athletes had planned their trip to the OTC before the outbreak ramped up in the U.S.

The list of athletes who have been at the OTC include Arik Katz, Michael Brinegar, Haley Anderson, Ashley Twichell, Ally McHugh, Gunnar Bentz, Kevin Cordes, Leah Smith, Bethany Gallat, Brandon Fischer, Chase Kalisz, Kaersten Meitz, Matt Grevers, Jonathan Tybur, Nic Fink, Emily Escobedo, Lillie Nordmann, Carson Foster, Lisa Bratton, Zane Grothe, Devon Nowicki and a group of Cal men’s team swimmers training separately under Dave Durden.

That group includes athletes who train out of a number of bases in Arizona, California, Indiana, Georgia, Michigan, New York and Wisconsin.

Professional and amateur swimmers around the country are scrambling to find places to work out in the wake of universities around the country suspending all athletics-related activity for the year, and the White House’s recommendation to limit all gathering to 10 people or fewer.

Olympian Lilly King, for example, told USA Today that she and fellow Indiana University swimmers are struggling to find a pool as both the university and local YMCAs have shuttered. Stanford-based swimmers have also had to leave campus.

Club teams – especially those that practice at publicly-owned facilities – are canceling practice en masse. One remaining option for displaced swimmers (for now) includes privately-owned pools, but even those are starting to close.

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John
4 years ago

After the USA swim team send this email “this includes group training and practice”, my daughter team still cont open. They ignore City, State, even USA swimming rule

Vasili Rajevski
4 years ago

Have the games delayed until November.

Troyy
Reply to  Vasili Rajevski
4 years ago

Weather is not warm enough

Swimmer
Reply to  Troyy
4 years ago

I think they’ll either hold it in July or delay by a full year – like it or not US TV rights will dominate the discussion and when it starts to clash with big money sports’ seasons they’ll put their foot down…

Leslie
4 years ago

Quarantine athletes at OTC in the dorms for two weeks, sanitize the facilities, after two weeks test for Coronavirus. If all clear, then let them train. No visitors and if you leave you can’t return

Vic
Reply to  Leslie
4 years ago

Good plan!

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Leslie
4 years ago

Staff? They quarantined too? It takes people to run the place.

Leslie
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

Sure.. lots of unemployed restaurant and hotel staff right now

kdswim
4 years ago

Interestingly a number of cities and states are allowing (and in some cases clarifying their previous rules to allow) Golf courses staying open with proper social distancing. No indoor club facilities and keep groups small on courses. Seems like a few swimmers training at, and in particular outdoor, pools really is no different. Of course keeping a pool open, especially if it needs heated water, for 9 swimmers and a coach at a time gets expensive.

Awsi Dooger
Reply to  kdswim
4 years ago

I’ve been playing twilight golf on a near empty course. It’s fantastic. If the younger generations hadn’t been stupid enough to demote golf they could be out there as well. Of course, many of them tried then quit once they realized it’s not as easy as they thought, based on playing video games. Swing and a miss. I’m outta here. This is stupid anyway.

RUN-DMC
Reply to  kdswim
4 years ago

There’s 24 hours in a day. So 12 coaches, 108 swimmers can use the pool, each in 2 hr sessions.

Timpan
4 years ago

Do we know what national team/pro swimmers aren’t getting any pool time at the moment?

Admin
Reply to  Timpan
4 years ago

We’re trying to piece it together, but it’s hard to get people to share what they’re doing sometimes.

Snarky
Reply to  Timpan
4 years ago

Yes

coach
Reply to  Timpan
4 years ago

Plenty. Some of the top athletes are without training facilities right now. I would bet the number of national team/pros swimming is less than the number who aren’t – just a guess.

Coach
Reply to  coach
4 years ago

And it changes daily.

Keith Schertle
4 years ago

As of today, the CDC and White House are urging a nationwide halt to gatherings of more than 10 people for the next eight weeks, citing the risk of the coronavirus. This includes avoiding eating or drinking in bars, restaurants, and food courts, and discretionary travel, shopping trips and social visits. This should also include team training and practices.
The above is from USA Swimming Web Site. The sentence that says “this should also include” would be quite a bit better if it said, “This includes team training and practices.” Is it just me or is the leadership at USA Swimming missing the boat again? Wow!

John
Reply to  Keith Schertle
4 years ago

After received USA swim team this email. My daughter team still cont open. They ignore City, State, even USA swimming rule.

Sir Swimsalot
4 years ago

What’s more likely to happen, a pushback to 2021 then resuming in 2024, cancellation, or resuming a new 4-year cycle starting with 2021-2025?

Snarky
Reply to  Sir Swimsalot
4 years ago

2022 and then 2024.

Jim
4 years ago

How about free water swimming? Offshore off the Florida coast.

About Torrey Hart

Torrey Hart

Torrey is from Oakland, CA, and majored in media studies and American studies at Claremont McKenna College, where she swam distance freestyle for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team. Outside of SwimSwam, she has bylines at Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, SB Nation, and The Student Life newspaper.

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