Opening ceremonies earlier this week at the 12th annual short course world championships in Quatar. (Photo by Clive Rose, Getty Images, courtesy of FINA).
Avon’s Madison Kennedy will hit the water and make her world championship debut on Friday at the FINA World Championships (25 meters) in Dona, Quatar.
Kennedy, a freestyle sprinter, will be swimming Friday on the American team in the 4×100 freestyle relay. Preliminary sessions begin at 9:30 a.m. in Quatar or 1:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. The finals begin each evening at 6 p.m. in Quatar or 10 a.m. EST.
Kennedy is seeded 18th in the 50 meter freestyle in the field of 130 entries with a time of 24.78 seconds. The top American in the race, she is seeded just ahead of teammate Abbey Weitzel, who has a seed time of 24.80 seconds.
Preliminary and semifinal races in the 50 free will be on Saturday. The finals will be on Sunday.
This championship meet is called a short course meet, held in a 25-meter pool. It is held every two years and this is the 12th short course world championship meet. The Olympics are long course meets, which are held in 50-meter pools. The long course world championship meet will be held next year.
Earlier this year, Kennedy was named to the U.S. national team in the 50 meter freestyle for the fourth time in five years. She earned her invitation by finished fourth in the 50 freestyle at the recent U.S. national championship meet with a time of 24.83 seconds – her best-ever time at the national meet and the second fastest time of her career.
Kennedy graduated from Avon High in 2005 and the University of California in Berkley in 2010. She has been training with SwimMAC Carolina since November 2011.