Jamulian Swimming Champ!

As many of my readers know, I'm not exactly a big sports fan -- I know next to nothing about most sports, and I don't follow them at all. But if I were a sports fan, I wouldn't be expecting to see open water swimming champions from Jamul -- maybe baseball, or soccer, or some other such sport that can be practiced here -- but open water swimming? Nevertheless, I read this morning that Courtney Weigand, a 17 year old girl from Jamul, took fifth place in a national competition:

Courtney Weigand Takes Fifth Place In National Championship USA 25K Swim

In a long grueling swim, seventeen-year-old Courtney Weigand takes on the 2007 USA 25K National Championships at Fort Myers, Florida with a splash and promises to return to an even better repeat performance next year.

Jamul, CA (PRWEB) May 25, 2007 -- Local teenager Courtney Weigand (17), of Jamul, CA, took fifth place at the USA Swimming National Open Water 25K competition May 21, 207, with a finish time of 6:57.33. Courtney swims for North Coast Aquatics (NCA), a local swim club located in La Jolla and Carlsbad and is on the North Coast Aquatics National Team. She is coached by NCA head coach, Jeff Pease.

"I was in third place at the 10.5 mile mark," says Courtney; "but my body and mind didn't cooperate to keep me there."

"It's very mental swim," adds her open water coach and kayaker for the race, John Lapp. "Courtney had never swum a competition farther than 10 miles, and this swim was over 15 miles; but she picked up her pace when she saw the finish line, and was able to take home the fifth place medal."

Courtney, who has been doing open water swims since she was six, was the youngest finisher to place in the 25K race, swimming around Estero Island at Fort Myers, Florida. On June 10, 2007 she heads for the Alcatraz swim, and in December she qualified in the Double Waikiki swim to compete in the 10K Grand Prix Open Water Swim, in Indianapolis, Indiana, a qualifier for the USA Olympic Trials 10K swim in October, which will also be held in Fort Myers, Florida.

"The top two women finishers were 24 and 25 years old, " explains Lapp. "Courtney is a strong swimmer and has a lot of years ahead of her as an elite open water swimmer. She did really well. This was her first 25K swim, and now she knows what to expect. We'll be back next year. She'll do even better!"

Congratulations, Courtney!

Next thing you know, we'll have a Jamulian astronaut...