Juneau's Gibb to swim against world's best
Former Petersburg High School swimmer Derek Gibb, a Juneau resident who now swims for Auburn University, will be competing against the top swimmers in the world this weekend during the FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Cup races at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y.
Gibb, a 1999 Petersburg graduate, is entered in four events for the two-day competition that runs today and Saturday. Gibb will swim in the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke events today. On Saturday, Gibb will swim in the 50-meter backstroke and the 50-meter freestyle events. The events will be competed using the short-course meters format (using a 25-meter pool).
The meet features about 200 swimmers from around the world who are competing for $60,000 in prize money. There also are prizes for world records set and other top performances at the meet. The New York meet is part of the 2002-03 FINA World Cup series, which takes swimmers to eight pools around the world and only has two stops in the United States.
Gibb is seeded 35th out of 39 swimmers in 100-meter freestyle (his best time would rank higher but was converted from yards) and is seeded 16th out of 19 in the 100-meter backstroke. In Saturday's events, Gibb is seeded ninth out of 15 in the 50-meter backstroke and 33rd out of 38 in the 50-meter freestyle.
- From staff reports