Carmel, Indiana, the 106,000-person metropolis that calls itself SwimCity, resides as much as the identify coined by Mayor Sue Finkam: It’s the solely metropolis with three hometown swimmers competing within the 2024 Olympic Video games in Paris, in line with SwimSwam, utilizing USA Swimming parameters.
Drew Kibler, who competed within the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, returns to the Video games to swim within the 4×200 freestyle relay freestyle relay. The Carmel Excessive Faculty and College of Texas alumnus competed in the identical occasion in Tokyo.
Siblings Aaron and Alex Shackell be part of him in Paris. Aaron, a 19-year-old rising sophomore who will attend the Texas subsequent yr, received the 400-meter freestyle on the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials to qualify for the Video games. He completed eighth within the last on Saturday evening and is ready to listen to whether or not he’ll swim within the prelims of the 4×200 freestyle relay, in line with the IndyStar.
Alex is a rising senior at Carmel Excessive Faculty. Although she’s simply 17, she already has worldwide expertise, having received silver alongside Katie Ledecky within the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
Within the Olympics, she’ll compete within the 200-meter butterfly and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Carmel swim coach Chris Plumb is a coach of the U.S. Olympic workforce, in Paris together with his longtime college students.
They’re not the one athletes to signify each the U.S. and their hometown. Males’s doubles tennis participant Rajeev Ram graduated from Carmel Excessive Faculty and will probably be in Paris for his second Olympic Video games. He received silver alongside Venus Williams within the 2016 Rio blended doubles.
Photograph courtesy of Rob DeRocker
The town of Carmel is galvanized, prepared for his or her athletes to compete. The town quickly renamed streets after every consultant, together with Plumb. Within the midtown space, a huge display was put in right into a plaza to permit group viewings of the occasions whereas free actions happen round. SunKing Brewery launched SwimCity pint glasses.
It’s a celebration in Carmel as their athletes are set to compete for gold and glory.
Associated: Welcome to SwimCity, USA: Carmel, Indiana has 14 swimmers within the Olympic qualifiers
