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USA Swimming, the national governing body for swimming in the United States, finalized its roster for the 2019 FINA World Championships Wednesday. Eight Golden Bears will represent the U.S. in Gwangju, South Korea, from July 12-28, 2019.
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— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) September 12, 2018
Presenting your #FINAGwangju2019 team! https://t.co/SiijCkOZiz
California swimmers on the U.S. World Championships roster include Nathan Adrian, Kathleen Baker, Katie McLaughlin, Ryan Murphy, Jacob Pebley, Josh Prenot, Andrew Seliskar and Abbey Weitzeil.
“Next year’s FINA World Championships roster features a mix of established veterans and rising stars, and we’re excited to see how they stack up against the world’s best competition following a full season of focused preparation,” USA Swimming National Team Managing Director Lindsay Mintenko said in a prepared statement.
Baker, an Olympic champion, set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke at U.S. Nationals this past summer and earned three medals at the 2017 world meet—gold in the 400-meter medley relay, silver in the 100-meter backstroke and bronze in the 200-meter backstroke.
Performance of the meet: @KathleenBaker2, 100m Back pic.twitter.com/z5Kep6WPGL
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) August 3, 2018
California will send a five-man contingent in Adrian, Murphy, Pebley, Prenot and Seliskar who are coming off strong results at U.S. Nationals and the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo last month.
Amazing finish to #PanPacs2018 with @teamusa winning 7 Golds on the final night. It’s been a great couple of weeks and is always an honor to represent the USA. Thanks to the City of Tokyo, Japan Swimming Federation & @usaswimming for putting on such a great event. #GoTeamUSA pic.twitter.com/VVgjkJHgVd
— Nathan Adrian (@Nathangadrian) August 12, 2018
Murphy swept the backstroke competitions at U.S. Nationals and won three gold medals in Tokyo, while Prenot claimed a national title. Adrian won a relay gold in Tokyo.
Seliskar who is returning for his senior season at California won a national championship in the 200-meter free and claimed two medals in Tokyo—gold in the 800-meter free relay and silver in the 200-free.
Mintenko’s roster features 46 swimmers including 18 Olympic gold medalists. Swimmers qualified to represent the U.S. on the combined results of the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships and the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.
The 2019 FINA World Championships is the final major international swimming competition ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The FINA World Championships, held every two years in odd-numbered years, are the world championships for aquatic sports including swimming, diving, high diving, synchronized swimming, open water swimming and water polo.
How many more gold medals will our Golden Bears claim in the World Championships next year? Will any of you be able to make the trip to southwest Korea to help make Gwangju, Bear Territory?