Swimming World Championships Medalists Set for Inaugural NYC Pro Swim September 6
Dave Herscher
Posted online: Wednesday, 12 August 2009
New York, Aug. 13 -- Andrew Gemmell, winner of the silver medal at 10 kilometers at the recent Swimming World Championships in Rome, and bronze medalist Francis Crippen will lead the U.S. National Team when the inaugural NYC Pro Swim, a 10k open water race, is held off Governors Island on Sunday, September 6 as part of the world professional marathon swimming circuit.
An outstanding women’s field will include California’s Chloe Sutton, a Beijing Olympian, the 2009 national 800-meter pool swimming champion and 2007 Pan American Games 10k gold medalist.
Swimmers from 16 countries will be competing.
Gemmell, who attends the University of Georgia, and Crippen, a graduate of Villanova, will be among more than 40 world class pro athletes competing for more than $25,000 in prize money in this event, organized by NYC Swim in partnership with USA Swimming and FINA, the international governing body for swimming. The NYC Pro Swim is the seventh stop on the 10-race FINA pro circuit.
The swimmers, in a large pack, will be constantly bumping and positioning themselves for the final sprint, fighting tides and waves for nearly two hours.
The NYC Pro Swim will be preceded by the fifth annual Governors Island Swim, a two-miler for amateurs, on Sept. 4 and the one-mile Pegganck Swim for both amateurs and pros on Sept. 5.
NYC Swim’s 12-race series also includes the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, Brooklyn Bridge Swim, Liberty Island Swim and a multi-sport race.
FFI: Dave Herscher Public Relations (212) 629-0370, dherscher@nycswim.org
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