Open-water swimmer Chloe Sutton, 16, heads to Beijing

July 23, 2008 by Aubrey01

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You will be hearing a lot about Chloe Sutton, the 16-year-old swimming pioneer. She is likely the youngest member of the US Olympic team, and she is forging ground in a new Olympic sporting event - open water swimming.

Her teammates have taken a keen interest in understanding not only the event, but also Sutton’s motivation for participating in a swimming event outside the traditional olympic pool.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s so crazy; I would never do that,’ ” Sutton said. “At the airport, I was sitting on the ground and they were all in chairs. They’re like ‘How does it work? How do you start? Is it really physical? Do you eat during a race?’

“They’ve never seen it before. It’s so new, so different. They’re really interested in what I go through out there.”

“In open water, you don’t know what’s out there. … You never know if you’re going to have a bad turn and get stuck in the pack and have to battle your way out.

“It’s such a thrill. It makes you feel so alive. It’s a great experience.”

John Schumacher of the Sacramento Bee wrote a great article on Chloe in today’s paper. Please read it here.