Natalie Coughlin

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 3. THIRTY-six top U.S. swimmers, including 21 Olympians, will battle against a squad of European swimmers at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Atlanta, December 16-17. The competition will take place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center and will be broadcast on NBC. 

The event will star Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo Calif.), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.), Brendan Hansen (Irvine, Calif.), Dana Vollmer (Granbury Texas) and Amanda Beard (Irvine, Calif.). The meet will also feature 2011 World Championship gold medalists Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) and Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I) as well as Olympians Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) and Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.). 

The U.S. roster is comprised of the fastest swimmers selected from four meets in 2011 - FINA World Championships, ConocoPhillips National Championships, World University Games and Pan American Games. Additional spots were filled through coach selection. The European All-Star team will be comprised of up to 22 men and 22 women, and has already seen commitments from World Championship swimmers from Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Belarus, Denmark, Austria and Lithuania. 

The men’s head coach for the Duel in the Pool will be SwimMAC head coach David Marsh while the women will be led by 2008 Women’s Olympic Coach and University of Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle. 

USA Swimming will add additional seats to the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center for the event but less than 3,000 seats are available for each day of the competition. 

Over $100,000 of prize money will be awarded at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. Swimmers will be awarded cash prizes for wins with world records commanding up to $15,000 and gold medals commanding $1,500. 

The bi-annual Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport’s most exciting swimmers in a short course meters format. This is the fifth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming. Past Duels were held in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Three of the events pitted all-star teams from the U.S. against Australia and the event in 2009 saw the first competition between the U.S. and the squad of European all-stars. The U.S. is 4-0 in the history of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. 

Women 
Amanda Beard Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics 
Eliot Dash 
Elizabeth Beisel Bluefish Swim Club/Florida 
Chuck Batchelor/Gregg Troy 
Elaine Breeden Stanford Swimming 
Lea Maurer 
Natalie Coughlin California Aquatics 
Teri McKeever 
Claire Donahue Western Kentucky University 
Bruce Marchionda 
Missy Franklin Colorado Stars 
Todd Schmitz 
Katy Freeman Santa Barbara Aquatics Club 
Gregg Wilson 
Jessica Hardy Trojan Swim Club 
David Salo 
Kathleen Hersey Longhorn Aquatics 
Eddie Reese 
Katie Hoff FAST Swim Team 
Jon Urbanchek 
Dagny Knutson Gator Swim Club 
Gregg Troy 
Elizabeth Pelton Unattached/T2 Aquatics 
Paul Yetter 
Julia Smit Stanford Swimming 
Lea Maurer 
Rebecca Soni Trojan Swim Club 
David Salo 
Ashley Steenvoorden Minnesota Aquatics 
Kelly Kremer 
Chloe Sutton Mission Viejo Nadadores 
Bill Rose 
Dana Vollmer California Aquatics 
Teri McKeever 
Amanda Weir SwimAtlanta 
Chris Davis 
Kate Ziegler FAST Swim Team 
Jon Urbanchek 

Head Coach: Jack Bauerle 
Assistant Coaches: Kim Brackin, Chris Davis, Lea Maurer 

Men 
Mike Alexandrov Trojan Swim Club 
David Salo 
Ricky Berens Trojan Swim Club 
David Salo 
Tyler Clary FAST Swim Team 
Jon Urbanchek 
Conor Dwyer Lake Forest/Gator Swim Club 
Maureen Sheehan/Gregg Troy 
Mark Gangloff New York Athletic Club 
Brett Hawke 
Matt Grevers Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics 
Rick DeMont 
Jimmy Feigen Longhorn Aquatics 
Eddie Reese 
Brendan Hansen Longhorn Aquatics 
Eddie Reese 
Michael Klueh FAST Swim Team 
Jon Urbanchek 
Ryan Lochte Daytona Beach/Gator Swim Club 
Steve Lochte/Gregg Troy 
Tyler McGill Auburn Aquatics 
Brett Hawke 
Matt McLean FAST 
Urbanchek 
Davis Tarwater SwimMAC Carolina 
David Marsh 
Nick Thoman SwimMAC Carolina 
David Marsh 
Eric Shanteau Trojan Swim Club 
David Salo 
Peter Vanderkaay Gator Swim Club 
Gregg Troy 
Garrett Weber- Gale Longhorn Aquatics 
Eddie Reese 

Head Coach: David Marsh 
Assistant Coaches: Mike Bottom, Ray Looze, Bill Wadley 

Original Article - Swimming World