2009 Duel in the Pool
| 2009 British Gas Duel in the Pool | |
|---|---|
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| Host city | Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Date(s) | 18–19 December 2009 |
| Venue(s) | Manchester Aquatics Centre |
| Teams | E-Stars United States |
| Athletes participating | 70 |
| Events | 30 |
The 2009 Duel in the Pool was a swimming competition between a team from the United States and a combined British, German and Italian "E-Stars" team held on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December 2009 at the Manchester Aquatics Centre, United Kingdom. The naming rights are held by Mutual of Omaha and British Gas in the United States and Europe respectively – the event was therefore promoted as the 2009 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool and 2009 British Gas Duel in the Pool.
The duel was won by the United States with a final score of 185–78, with eight short course world records broken – all by the USA team.
In March 2009 it was announced that British Swimming were looking at proposals to host a Duel in the Pool style meet between the USA and a combined European team in Manchester, dubbed the Ryder Cup of swimming. On 21 October 2009, it was announced that a Duel in the Pool will take place between a "European select team" and the USA in Manchester on 18 and 19 December 2009. This event will include the first competitive performance by Michael Phelps in Britain.
The E-Stars team was announced on 25 November following a delay in confirming availability of some of the originally selected swimmers. It was originally intended that the European team would include 12 swimmers from each of the three participating nations, however the team list included fourteen each from Great Britain and Italy, with just eight from Germany.
Middle-distance freestyle swimmers Joanne Jackson (GBR) and Federica Pellegrini (ITA) were originally included on the team list, however their withdrawals were announced on 4 December – Jackson due to recovering from a lung infection, and Pellegrini due to a clash with an awards dinner in Italy. Jackson's position in the team was filled by Jazmin Carlin (GBR). German Steffen Deibler was present on the original team list, however he withdrew from the event due to illness on 14 December and was replaced by Marco Orsi of Italy.Alessia Filippi (ITA) also withdrew due to illness on this date.Keri-Anne Payne (GBR) was drafted into the team as a replacement for Filippi just a few days prior to the start of the competition. The final team list consisted of 13 Italian, 7 German and 15 British members.
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