Olympians Lochte, Hoff, Shanteau and Weber-Gale to Swim at the Missouri Grand Prix

Eight members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic swim team and members the U.S. National Team will compete at the third stop of the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series - the Missouri Grand Prix in Columbia, Mo., February 13-16.

Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and multiple Olympic medalist Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) will headline the field in Columbia. They will be joined by Olympians Garrett Weber-Gale (Milwaukee, Wis.), Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.), Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio), and Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.). This is the first Hoff and Magnuson will compete in the U.S. since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

In addition to the strong pool of American talent expected to swim in Missouri, 25 members of the Mexican National Team will compete at the Missouri Grand Prix. In addition, Tunisian Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli, French Olympic silver medalist Fred Bousquet, and Trinidadian Olympic bronze medalist George Bovell will compete in Columbia.

The Missouri Grand Prix is the third stop in the six-meet USA Swimming Grand Prix Series, which awards the overall series winner a $20,000 grand prize. A leaderboard can be found online at www.usaswimming.org. National teamer Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill.), who will also swim in Columbia, is the current leader with 61 points. Swimmers are awarded five points for a gold medals, three points for a silver medal and one point for a bronze medal at Grand Prix events. In Missouri, events in the non-Olympic 50-meter distance will take place on Monday, however, these races will be exhibition only and will not count toward the Grand Prix point totals.

Tickets for the meet, taking place at the Mizzou Aquatic Center on the University of Missouri campus, are $15 for final sessions and $10 for prelim sessions. An all-session pass is available for $60. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Finals start at 5:30 p.m. and prelims begin at 9 a.m. Finals race footage and interviews from the Grand Prix meet will be broadcast online at www.swimnetwork.com.

The USA Swimming Grand Prix Series serves as an opportunity for athletes to race against top-notch competition as they continue their preparation for the 2009 ConocoPhillips National Championships in Indianapolis and the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. Other stops in the Grand Prix series include: Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; and Santa Clara, Calif.

Tags: Chloe Sutton, Christine Magnuson, Eric Shanteau, Garrett Weber-Gale, Katie Hoff, Mark Gangloff, Matt Grevers , Missouri Grand Prix, Ryan Lochte