The Week That Was: China, Japan Start Off Strong At 2018 Asian Games

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

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The last major international competition of the summer kicked off at the end of the week in Indonesia, with China and Japan kicking off the meet in dominating fashion. Check out how the first two days of competition went at that meet and read about all the biggest stories of the week in the week that was!

The Week That Was #5 – Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev Joins Team Elite In San Diego

11-01-14 MWSD vs. Auburn and LSU Kristian Gkolomeev Men 50 Yard Freestyle Photo by Kelly Price

Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price/Alabama Athletics

This week Coach David Marsh and Team Elite Aquatics in San Diego announced that Kristian Gkolomeev, the former Alabama sprinter who now represents Greece internationally, will be joining their training group in California. The NCAA Champion most recently competed at the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow, winning a silver medal in the 50 free (21.44), finishing fourth in the 50 fly, and splitting 47.51 on the 4×100 freestyle relay. “Kristian is one of the top swimmers in Europe and the best sprinter the nation of Greece has ever had,” said Coach Marsh. “He has great upside and is motivated to explore his fullest potential in San Diego with Team Elite.” You can read the full press release on Gkolomeev’s switch to Team Elite here.

The Week That Was #4 – Ohio State Diving Club Asking Court To Dismiss Claims Against Club

Photo Courtesy: Andy Ross

The Ohio State University Diving Club is asking a federal court to dismiss the claims against the club in a lawsuit that alleges a former coach sexually abused young divers. The coach in question, Will Bohonyi, is a defendant in the lawsuit, as is USA Diving. The plaintiffs, who are three female divers, argue that Bohonyi sexually abused and exploited them and claim that USA Diving did not do enough after banning him. Bohonyi was put on USA Diving’s banned list of athletes in 2015. Lawyers for the club are arguing that the club can’t be sued without its consent, citing the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity that generally protects the government from lawsuits.

The Week That Was #3 – Americans Lead Sweep Of Open Water Events At Pan Pacs

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Americans Jordan Wilimovsky and Haley Anderson completed a sweep of the open water events at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships the day after the pool competition wrapped up. Wilimovsky won the men’s 10K open water race in 1:58.50.5, finishing six seconds ahead of Canadian Eric Hedlin. Anderson, who is coming off an amazing Nationals where she had multiple best times, won the women’s 10K in 2:08.24.8, beating out Australia’s Kareena Lee and Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha, who were just one and two seconds behind her, respectively. You can get a refresh of all the results from the 2018 Pan Pac Championships here.

The Week That Was #2 – Former Head of Hungarian Swimming Leaves Jail on Bail

Photo Courtesy: Swimming World

The former head of the Hungarian swimming federation, Tama Gyarfas, has paid the 200 million bail to be released from jail while he awaits a murder trial. Gyarfas was arrested back in April on suspicion of ordering the murder of media business rival Janos Fenyo back in 1998. Gyarfas was the head of the Hungarian Swimming Federation from 1993 to 2006, and has also held high level positions in European and international swimming federations while also serving as the leader of Hungary’s Olympic Committee. He has denied any involvement in the murder of the former business rival.

The Week That Was #1 – China, Japan Start Off With Dominating First Night Of Asian Games

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

The 2018 Asian Games got off to a fast start this weekend, with three Games records falling in the first night while China and Japan dominated the gold medal table. China’s Xu Jiayu broke the first Games record of the night, winning the 100 backstroke in 52.34 over Japan’s Ryosuke Irie to tie Irie’s record from 2014. Jiayu was the 2017 World Champion in the event, and his time puts his second in the world behind American and world record holder Ryan Murphy. Japan’s Satomi Suzuki went 1-2 with teammate Reona Aoki in the 100 breaststroke, breaking the Games record with 1:06.40, while the 4×100 freestyle relay team of Rikako Ikee (53.60), Natsumi Sakai (54.81), Tomomi Aoki (54.21) and Chihiro Igarashi (53.90) closed the first night of finals with a win and new Japanese record. Much of the action at the Asian Games is still to come, including Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling making his first major long course appearance as a professional athlete, which you can follow along with here.

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