Olympic Year Action Opens with Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin

The following is a press release courtesy of USA Swimming:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The push toward this summer’s 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming continues for a strong field, expected to include Olympic champions and world record-holders Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.), Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md.), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), at the Jan. 15-17 Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin at the University of Texas’ Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

The meet opens Friday, Jan. 15 and continues through Sunday, Jan. 17, with daily prelims at 9 a.m. Central followed by finals at 6 p.m. Single- and all-session tickets are on sale now online.

Television coverage from Austin will air on Universal HD on same-day delay on Saturday, Jan. 16, and Sunday, Jan. 17, from 9:30-11 p.m. Eastern, while NBC Sports Live Extra will stream Jan. 16-17 finals live. A live webcast of the entire meet also will be available at usaswimming.org.

Additional Olympic champions expected to swim in Austin include the likes of Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.), Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.),Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.), Anthony Ervin (Valencia, Calif.), Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) and Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas).

On the local front, a number of UT alumni and current swimmers are expected to complete, including former Longhorns Jimmy Feigen (San Antonio, Texas), Michael McBroom (The Woodlands, Texas) and Laura Sogar (Exeter, R.I.), as well as current Texas standouts like Jack Conger(Rockville, Md.).

In total, more than 600 swimmers are slated to compete in Austin, including approximately 70 members of the USA Swimming National Team.

The Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin is the second of seven stops 2015-16 Arena Pro Swim Series. As part of USA Swimming’s partnership with swimwear leader Arena, the circuit will feature a record $350,000 in overall prize money. Swimmers may earn awards for top-three finishes in all individual Olympic events across the series. At each meet, $1,000 will be provided for a first-place finish, $600 for second and $200 for third. In addition to the single-event prize money, the overall male and female winners of the season-long Series will earn a $10,000 bonus.

For the third consecutive season, longtime USA Swimming partner BMW will award the grand prize of a one-year lease of a BMW vehicle to the highest-scoring eligible male and female U.S. swimmers.

Male and female overall Arena Pro Swim Series champions will be honored at the conclusion of the 2015-16 series based on the number of points accumulated throughout the seven meets. Participants will be awarded points in each individual Olympic event throughout the duration of the Series (Five points for first, three for second, one point for third place).

Ledecky currently leads the women’s Arena Pro Swim Series standings with 16 points, while two-time defending champion Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) tops the men’s side with 13 points.