High Performance Team visit USA

A team of 16 athletes recently spent three weeks in Arizona and California, USA competing in two meets and attending the national team altitude camp.

When they arrived in the USA (April 13 – 15) the New Zealand team competed at the Mesa Pro Series in Pheonix. Some of the USA’s top swimmers, such as Katie Ledecky, Nathan Adrian and Simone manual were amongst the athletes competing at the meet. Many of the New Zealand team made finals, with Bradley Ashby and Daniel Hunter making the podium.

Following the Mesa Pro the team travelled to Flagstaff, Arizona for training at altitude at the Northern Arizona University Campus. The athletes were put through their paces and it was a challenging eleven days but all completed the training admirably. A highlight of their trip included a visit to the Grand Canyon on their afternoon off.

The team finished off the trip with the TYR Fran Crippen Memorial Swim Meet of Champions in Irvine, California. The competition was hosted by the Storied Club Mission Veijo Nandadores. The whole team swam well after an intense 11 days of training and made several finals with multiple athletes winning titles.

Picture: Matthew Stanley visits the Grand Canyon on an afternoon off from training.