Some of the best swimmers from around the world will soon gather in Clovis as part of the TYR Pro Swim Series. The three-day event will take place at Clovis North High School from June 12-15, bringing together professional and amateur swimmers.
John McGough, head coach for the Clovis Swim Club, said the first-place winner gets $3,000 in each event, second-place gets $2,000 and third-place gets $1,000.
McGough said amateur swimmers can only accept money to cover their expenses, but the money is more important for the professional swimmers.
“It’s giving them a means to continue training without the stress of having to work a full-time job at the same time,” McGough said.
Clovis is one five US cities which has been chosen to host this year’s TYR Pro Swim Series.
“The climate is really good for an outdoor meet. You can pretty much count that we’re going to be in the 80s, 90s,” McGough said. “It’s usually not too hot yet, so that’s about as good as it gets for an outdoor meet.”
The meet will include Kelsi Dahlia (2016 Olympic Gold Medalist), Leah Smith (2016 Olympic Gold Medalist), Matt Grevers (2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist), Townley Haas (2016 Olympic Gold Medalist) and Justin Wright (2018 National Champion / Clovis West Grad).
For some of the international swimmers, the meet could decide if they qualify for the Olympics.
“Some of the smaller countries do not have formal trials. They select on the highest world ranked athlete that they have,” McGough said. “For example, I have a girl training with us right now from Uzbekistan. If she makes the cut and she’s the highest ranked female in Uzbekistan, she’ll get to go.”
With the 2020 Olympics getting closer, McGough said it’s that time where different countries are focusing in on their selections.
“We have a big selection meet next June, two months out from from the Olympics, but a lot of these smaller countries don’t do it the same way,” McGough said. “Australia I think is having their trials this summer, so it has a bit of that flavor as well and I know a team is coming from Canada.”