North Carolina
U.S. Open Water World Championship Trials
Sprague Places Seventh At World Championships Trials
October 20, 2007 | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 20, 2007
FORT MYERS, FLA. - Junior Whitney Sprague of the University of North Carolina placed seventh out of 26 competitors at the 2008 Open Water 10 Kilometer World Championships Trials for the United States at Miromar Lake in Fort Myers, Fla.
The top two competitors in the race today advanced to the 2008 World Championships April 29-May 4, 2008 in Seville, Spain. That meet will serve as the qualifying event for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The 2008 Olympics will host 10K open water swimming as a medal event for the first time.
Sprague ran fifth for most of the race before she went off course for a short period, dropping to seventh and finishing the race in 2 hours and 4 minutes.
"Whitney had a great swim today. She only began her open water swimming career earlier this year so she has made tremendous progress. Seventh place in this field is an outstanding result," said UNC assistant coach Catherine Vogt, who coaches Tar Heel swimmers in open water events.
The University of North Carolina will be well represented in the men's 10K qualifier on Sunday as three of the 24 competitors in the men's race are Tar Heels. That trio includes senior Philip Owen, sophomore Chip Peterson and freshman Joe Kinderwater.
Players Mentioned
