We’ve reached out to several of the world’s major federations to take a straw poll of who is still interested in participating, and the first response came from USA Swimming.
The Americans still plan to field and send a team to the Open Water Junior World Championships, according to a spokesperson who responded this afternoon.
USA Swimming wouldn’t comment specifically as to whether or not they were involved with FINA about moving the event from Israel, but they did say that they were monitoring the situation.
It’s too early to know for sure if the American team will stay the same as originally announced, but the initial roster included: Taylor Abbott, Megan Byrnes, Kyle Mitchell, Simon Lamar, Jessie Arnold, Erin Emery, Liam Egan, and Jerad Kaskawal.
With the potential two-week delay in the event, and specifically the time of year in which it takes place, there could become some school conflicts. Some shouldn’t have any academic conflicts, like Liam Egan, who will begin his freshman season at Stanford next year (new undergrads don’t arrive in Palo Alto until September 16th). Others may not have that same flexibility.