Pro swimming tour coming to Clovis in 2019

The TYR Pro Swim Series is coming to Clovis North next summer, bringing some of the top American swimmers and local stars. The event is the last event before the World Championship. COURTESY OF AQUATIC DESIGN GROUP

Go ahead and mark June 12-15, 2019 on your calendar. Some of the best swimmers in the world are coming to town in the final leg of the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series, a massive three-and-a-half-day event at the Clovis North Aquatics Complex.

Five-time Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky, seven-time world champion Caeleb Dressel, four-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel and 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte are expected to participate.

The event will feature local star Justin Wright, a 2014 Clovis West grad who recently graduated from Arizona and specializes in the 200 fly. Other locals will include Averee Preble (Clovis High), Abby Samansky (Clovis West), Austin Lane (Clovis West), Isabella Abrajan (Clovis West) and Ben Forbes (Clovis North).

The bid to get Clovis the event was spearheaded by Clovis Swim Club director and CUSD aquatics director John McGough. The sporting event is expected to bring more than $500,000 to the local economy and draw more than 4,000 total spectators.

The blockbuster event in Clovis is the final stop of five in the USA Swimming Championship Series and the final meet before the World Championships. It’s the only stop on the West Coast.

“We are extremely pleased to see another prestigious event come to Clovis Unified, which gives our local community an opportunity to benefit on many levels from being in the national spotlight,” said Clovis Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Eimear O’Farrell. “Clovis Unified is excited to bring world class swimmers to our beautiful swim complex at Clovis North High School, and to our proud and welcoming extended community.”

The TYR Pro Swim Series is a 3.5-day long course event which traditionally runs from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday, and is scheduled to be televised on NBC Sports Network, the Olympic Channel, as well as live streamed at usaswimming.org.

Historically, each stop attracts between 400-600 of the world’s top swimmers including USA Swimming National Team members, Junior National Team members and top 50 world ranked swimmers.

Paul Meadors is a man of many talents. He is a elementary school teacher, Junior High athletic director, and basketball coach in Traver, CA, in addition to serving as the Sports Editor for the Clovis Roundup. He is also the author of the humorous book “Letters to eBay,” and he has recorded a piano album of his own compositions titled “Surviving the Storm.” He lives in Fresno with wife Lori and daughters Georgie, Alex and Ruthie.