June 29, 2009

PITTSBURGH, Pa.-148 swimmers took to the open waters of Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park just north of Pittsburgh, Pa. this morning. Three events, a half-mile, a mile and a 2-mile race were offered. The event was open to all ages and abilities for USA Swimming and USA Masters athletes.

“It was an unbelievably exciting day for us today with so many swimmers turning out,” said Race Director Marian Clark. Clark is the Senior Assistant for the Pitt Swimming staff and a member of the Team Pittsburgh coaching staff.

“Whenever you can offer a great event like this in a great venue like Lake Arthur and have the local swimmers take advantage of it, you have a win-win situation,” she added. Clark noted that today’s event was the largest open-water event ever conducted in Western Pennsylvania by Allegheny Mountain Swimming, the local USA swimming body.

There were 96 swimmers in the 2-mile race and 52 swimmers in the combined half-mile and one-mile events. The course start was at Porter’s Cove in Lake Arthur.

One of the most amazing swims of the day came from Craig Dietz, pictured above, who covered the 2-mile distance finishing 95th in that race, but first in his category. Craig only used the aid of a swim fin attached to his leg, swimming the distance entirely on his back.

“Watching all the swimmers compete was exciting. But, watching Craig compete was emotionally uplifting. Craig’s tenacity and courage should be a motivation to every competitive swimmer,” said Chuck Knoles, Head Coach of the Pitt swim team.

“We could not have pulled this off without the amazing support of the Moraine State Park personnel and Park rangers, the Pitt and Team Pittsburgh swimmers and staff, the Pitt lifeguards, and the local coaches, volunteers and officials. Everyone worked very hard to make this a remarkable event,” said Clark. “Our thanks go out to everyone involved.”

Clark and most of her helpers including most of the Pitt swimmers and lifeguards arrived at the Porter’s Cove start just before sunrise this morning to begin preparation for the morning race.

Assisting Coach Clark with the meet setup and direction was her husband Todd Clark. Todd is the Head Coach of the Fox Chapel Killer Whales. Assistant Head Coach for Pitt Women’s Swimming Jeff Berghoff used the services of his wife Mykie as they both recorded the places and times of all of the swimmers.

“It has become a family affair,” said Coach Todd Clark, smiling.

Winners of the 2-mile event were both from the Pine Richland Aquatic club- Lindsey Vrooman for the women and Matt Schaefer for the men. The remaining event winners and times of all participants, including all of the Masters swimmers will be available in a few days on the AMS swimming website www.amswim.org , and on the Team Pittsburgh site, www.teampittsburgh.com.