07/9/2001

Top Swimmers Named for 2001 Goodwill Games European and World All-Star Teams

Top swimmers from around the world will comprise the 2001 Goodwill Games European and World all-star teams competing for a prize purse of $508,000 (USD) at this year's Goodwill Games competition in Brisbane, Australia, officials announced today. In addition to the European and World All-Stars team, swimmers from Australia and the United States will compete during the six-day competition held at the Chandler Aquatic Center in downtown Brisbane from Aug. 29- Sept. 3, which will air in the United States on Turner Network Television.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Goodwill Games gold medalist Pieter Van Den Hoogenband (Netherlands) is one of the swimmers confirmed to represent the European All-Stars team. In addition to Van Den Hoogenband, also confirmed to participate are his teammate, three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Goodwill Games gold medalist Inge De Bruijn (Netherlands), Olympian and Goodwill Games gold medalist Stev Theloke (Germany), three-time Olympian Lars Frolander (Sweden), two-time Olympic gold medalist Yana Klochkova (Ukraine), two-time Olympic silver medalist and Goodwill Games gold medalist Martina Moravcova (Slovakia), and three-time Olympian and Olympic silver medalist Beatrice Caslaru (Romania).

World All-Star team members will include three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic silver medalist Gustavo Borges (Brazil), two-time Goodwill Games silver medalist Fernando Scherer (Brazil), Olympian and Goodwill Games gold medalist Ryk Neethling (South Africa), Olympian Terence Parkin (South Africa) and Olympic gold medalist and two-time Goodwill Games gold medalist Claudia Poll (Costa Rica). Additional members of both the European and World All-star team will be announced in early August, after the World Swimming Championships.

"Brisbane is the perfect stage to highlight the patriotic rivalries between the world's best swimmers," said Michael Plant, president of Goodwill Games, Inc. "The unique team format will provide spectators the opportunity to witness the exciting match-ups between individuals and teams."

The competition format consists of four men's and four women's national teams, with 23 athletes per team. Each men's and women's team competes in a round-robin, dual-meet format for a total of three dual meets per team. First and second-place teams advance to the gold medal finals, while the third and fourth place teams advance to the bronze medal final. Each team is allowed two entries in individual events and one entry in relay events.

The competition will consist of 38 events: 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x100 freestyle relay, 4x100 medley relay, the team competition and the 1500m freestyle in the men's competition and the 800m freestyle in the women's competition.

The Goodwill Games, Aug. 29-Sept. 9, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, will feature 14 sports: athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling (track), diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, trampoline, triathlon, weightlifting and surf lifesaving. The Goodwill Games were founded by AOL Time Warner Vice Chairman R.E. Turner in 1986 to ensure that the world's best athletes have the opportunity to compete in world-class competition. Goodwill Games, Inc. is a division of Turner Sports, the sports programming and production business unit of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

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