The 2016 U.S. Paralympic Swim Team was announced today.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, today announced the 2016 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team after three days of intense racing in Charlotte, North Carolina, filling the roster with 21 women and 10 men. Seventeen athletes heading to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have Paralympic Games experience, resulting in 14 fresh faces who are looking to turn heads in the sport’s ultimate competition. The team will also feature two U.S. military service members, one a retired Navy veteran and one active duty member currently serving in the United States Army.
Twelve-time Paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.), Rudy Garcia-Tolson (Bloomington, Calif.) and Cody Bureau (Latrobe, Pennsylvania) are the only swimmers on the team able to say their Paralympic Games career stretches back to the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. All three have been named to their fourth U.S. Paralympic Team with the trio all having competed in 2012, 2008 and 2004.
Cortney Jordan (Henderson, Nevada), Noga Nir-Kistler (Allentown, Pennsylvania), Tucker Dupree (Raleigh, North Carolina) and Roy Perkins (San Diego, California) will all be representing Team USA for the third time, having seen action in both London and Beijing.
Brickelle Bro (Castle Pines, Colorado), McKenzie Coan (Clarkesville, Georgia), Alyssa Gialamas (Naperville, Illinois), Letticia Martinez (Las Cruces, New Mexico), Rebecca Meyers (Baltimore, Maryland), Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minnesota), Colleen Young (St. Louis, Missouri), Evan Austin (Terre Haute, Indiana), Dalton Herendeen (Elkhart, Indiana) and retired Navy veteran Brad Snyder (Baltimore, Maryland) will all return for their second Games.
Athletes making their Games debut include Hannah Aspden (Raleigh, North Carolina), Haley Bernabaum (Snohomish, Washington), Reilly Boyt (Fort Collins, Colorado), Cailin Currie (Danvers, Massachusetts), McClain Hermes (Dacula, Georgia), Sophia Herzog (Fairplay, Colorado), Michelle Konkoly (Eagleville, Pennsylvania), U.S. Army Sgt. Elizabeth Marks (Prescott Valley, Arizona), Marth Ruether (Allegany, New York), Natalie Sims (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Elizabeth Smith (Muncie, Indiana), Tharon Drake (Hobbs, New Mexico), Tye Dutcher (Merced, California) and Robert Griswold (Freehold, New Jersey).
There are a combined 19 gold, 8 silver and 12 bronze Paralympic Games medals among the 31 athletes, with Long pacing the field at 12 golds. Her 14 world records, long course and short course, also lead all swimmers. As a whole, the group owns a combined 39 world records factoring in both long course and short course distances.
Twenty-five athletes on the roster are currently ranked in the top 10 in the world across 89 events with six swimmers being in the top 10 on the planet in five or more events.
The United States Resident Team based at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado will have nine representatives heading to Rio, including five women (Beranbaum, Herzog, Marks, Martinez and Ruether) and four men (Austin, Drake, Dutcher and Garcia-Tolson).
Aspden, Sims and Dutcher are three members of the 2016 emerging team to qualify for Rio.
Below is a detailed roster of the 2016 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team:
| Name | Classification | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Women | ||
| Hannah Aspden | S9, SB8, SM9 | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Haley Beranbaum | S5, SB5, SM5 | Snohomish, Wash. |
| Reilly Boyt | S6, SB6, SM6 | Fort Collins, Colo. |
| Brickelle Bro | S8, SB7, SM8 | Castle Pines, Colo. |
| McKenzie Coan | S7, SB7, SM7 | Clarkesville, Ga. |
| Cailin Currie | S13, SB13, SM13 | Danvers, Mass. |
| Alyssa Gialamas | S5, SB5, SM5 | Naperville, Ill. |
| McClain Hermes | S12, SB12, SM12 | Dacula, Ga. |
| Sophia Herzog | S6, SB6, SM6 | Fairplay, Colo. |
| Cortney Jordan | S7, SB7, SM7 | Henderson, Nev. |
| Michelle Konkoly | S9, SB9, SM9 | Eagleville, Pa. |
| Jessica Long | S8, SB7, SM8 | Baltimore, Md. |
| Elizabeth Marks | S8, SB7, SM8 | Prescott Valley,,Ariz./U.S. Army |
| Letticia Martinez | S11, SB11, SM11 | Las Cruces, N.M. |
| Rebecca Meyers | S13, SB13, SM13 | Baltimore, Md. |
| Noga Nir-Kistler | S6, SB5, SM6 | Allentown, Pa. |
| Martha Ruether | S13, SB13, SM13 | Allegany, N.Y. |
| Natalie Sims | S9, SB9, SM9 | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Elizabeth Smith | S9, SB9, SM9 | Muncie, Ind. |
| Mallory Weggemann | S8, SB7, SM8 | Eagan, Minn. |
| Colleen Young | S13, SB13, SM13 | St. Louis, Miss. |
| Men | ||
| Evan Austin | S8, SB7, SM8 | Terre Haute, Ind. |
| Cody Bureau | S9, SB9, SM9 | Latrobe, Pa. |
| Tharon Drake | S11, SB11, SM11 | Hobbs, N.M. |
| Tucker Dupree | S12, SB12, SM12 | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Tye Dutcher | S10, SB9, SM10 | Merced, Calif. |
| Rudy Garcia-Tolson | S8, SB7, SM7 | Bloomington, Calif. |
| Robert Griswold | S8, SB7, SM8 | Freehold, N.J. |
| Dalton Herendeen | S10, SB8, SM10 | Elkhart, Ind. |
| Roy Perkins | S5, SB4, SM5 | San Diego, Calif. |
| Bradley Snyder | S11, SB11, SM11 | Baltimore, Md. |
All qualifications and nominations to the U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team are pending approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
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