This week, USA Swimming held a relay camp at the University of Texas at Austin where several swimmers on the U.S. National team were present. In addition, 2022 U.S. World Championship head coaches Todd DeSorbo and Anthony Nesty and assistant coach Ron Aitken were also there.
USA Swimming confirmed to SwimSwam on Saturday that the event was a “closed camp”, and that they would not be sharing details. SwimSwam has not received any further information on the camp, though they have reached out to multiple swimmers and coaches present there and have not gotten any responses back.
That being said, several swimmers and coaches have posted pictures on social media about the camp.
From social media photos, it appears that seven-time Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel was amongst the swimmers present at the relay camp. Dressel has not competed at an official swim meet since pulling out of the 2022 World Championships for “non-COVID-related medical reasons” last summer and has stayed relatively quiet on social media since then. However, in March 2023, it was confirmed to SwimSwam that he was back in training.
Other swimmers spotted at the relay camp include U.S. National Team members Katie Ledecky, Leah Smith, Lydia Jacoby, Erin Gemmell, Torri Huske, Regan Smith, Claire Curzan, Bella Sims, Claire Weinstein, Katie Grimes, Kate Douglass, Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler, Trenton Julian, Jake Magahey, Kieran Smith, Brooks Curry, Justin Ress, and Shaine Casas.
Notably, the swimmers at the relay camp seem to be trending towards the younger side. With the exception of Ledecky, Ress, L. Smith, Held, and Dressel, none of the swimmers are over a year removed from graduating college. In addition, many swimmers who have been on recent Team USA relays at major long course meets such as Hunter Armstrong, Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Nic Fink, Erika Brown, Abbey Weitzeil, Alex Walsh, Hali Flickinger, Lilly King, Natalie Hinds, and Simone Manuel were not seen at the camp.
Though no specific reason for these relay camps have been given to SwimSwam, it is worth noting that USA Swimming recently announced a relay incentive program where the U.S. team at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 Olympic Games will earn bonus money for hitting certain relay achievements. This includes a $1 million bonus that will be split between the entire 2024 U.S. Olympic swim team if they win gold in all seven relays at the Paris Games.
