Hamilton County swimmers were among those competing at the World Swimming Cup, hosted by the Carmel High School Aquatic Center this past weekend. Pictured, from left, are Lewis Zhang and Aaron Shackell of Carmel Swim Club and Emily Wolf of Fishers Area Swimming Tigers. (Julie Brown)
By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Since Carmel Swim Club has already produced Olympic gold medalists and world-class swimmers, the international swimming community was already aware of Carmel’s reputation as Swim City.
This past weekend, Carmel invited the world to see it up close by hosting the first stop of the World Swimming Cup. The meet took place at Carmel High School’s Aquatic Center, which is still relatively new, having opened last year.
Ruri Lee (left) and her mother Nayeon Jo were among the fans at the World Swimming Cup. Lee and Jo moved to Dayton, Ohio from Brisbane, Australia earlier this year and were on hand to cheer for the Australian swimmers. (Richie Hall)
The event was a success, with fans and media from all over the world coming to Carmel to cheer and report on their country’s swimmers.
That included Ruri Lee, a young swimmer originally from Brisbane, Australia who moved to Dayton, Ohio earlier this year. Lee attended with her mother, Nayeon Jo, and both were enthusiastically rooting for the Australians. They spoke with the Reporter on Sunday, Oct. 12, the final day of the event.
“I found out through all my friends,” said Lee. “They were talking about it and it was really exciting. We bought the last-minute ticket, and when I heard that Sam Short and all the other amazing Australian girls were coming, I got really excited.”
Samuel Short won the men’s 1500 freestyle and placed second in the men’s 400 freestyle. Lee and Jo were also cheering for Australian swimmers such as Kaylee McKeown, who won Sunday’s women’s 200 backstroke in a time of 1 minutes, 58.86 seconds. McKeown finished over a second ahead of second place.
“I think it’s just amazing seeing all those girls race internationally,” said Lee. “It really inspires me to go race again myself and push myself again in training.”
Lee said she will be competing in a race at the Carmel pool in the next few weeks. She said it was “a good experience for me to come see the pool and the environment.”
Months of planning
The preparation for hosting the World Swimming Cup began in February, once it was revealed that Carmel would host the event. CHS athletics and activities director Jim Inskeep said there were “planning meetings every week,” as well as many other meetings going on to figure out logistically how things were going to work.
Once the calendar turned to summer and fall, Inskeep said things got down to the “nuts and bolts” and a timeline was needed for “when things are going to arrive” and “when things needed to happen.
But everything came together and Inskeep called the event “a great week.” He said there was good cooperation from various entities, including the City of Carmel, Hamilton County Sports Authority and the Carmel Clay School District, as well as World Aquatics and Dek Technologies.
“You had a lot of spokes on the wheel going, but it was a lot of fun to see it come together all at the state of the meet,” said Inskeep.
As for the future, Inskeep expects there to be more big meets at the Aquatic Center.
“We know it probably won’t be our last go-round with hosting some big meets here, so we’ll see what the future holds,” said Inskeep. “I know the club’s got some big stuff coming up over the next several months and we’re just scratching the surface with what the future holds here.”
