Avon’s Madison Kennedy remains part of the U.S. Swimming national team. U.S. Swimming named 107 swimmers to the U.S. national team on Tuesday. The top six athletes with the highest world rankings in each Olympic event in results in the first eight months of this year were named to the team.
Kennedy was named to the team in the 50-meter freestyle for the second consecutive year.
In August, she won her first U.S. individual national title in the 50 free at the U.S. national championship meet in San Antonio with a career-best time of 24.71 seconds. She also represented the U.S. at the recent Pan-American Games in Toronto in July where she finished fifth and as the second American in the final behind teammate Natalie Coughlin.
“The U.S. swimming national team represents the highest level of swimming in the United States,” said Frank Busch, USA Swimming national team director. “Heading into an Olympic year (2016), this group of dedicated athletes will positively represent our country and aim to build on the national team’s tradition of success in and out of the pool.”
The advantage of being on the U.S. national team is that swimmers are eligible for reimbursement for travel to USA Swimming Arena Pro Swim Series meets and training camp opportunities. Select athletes are eligible for monthly assistance and elite athlete health insurance.
Kennedy, 27, lives in Charlotte, N.C., where she trains with SwimMAC Carolina.
Among the 107 members of the team are world-record holders and Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin, Katie Ledeck, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps headlining the roster.
Ledecky, who won five gold medals and set world records in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events at the recent world championships in Kazan, Russia, earned a national yeam roster spot with top performances in the 200 meters, 400 and 800 freestyle events for the second straight year.
Franklin is one of three swimmers to earn a national team spot in four events, as she qualified in the 100 and 200 meter freestyle and 100 and 200 meter backstroke. Lochte and Phelps qualified for the squad in three events each. Lochte claimed a roster spot in the 200m free, 200m back and 200m IM, while Phelps qualified in the 100m fly, 200m fly and 200m IM. Phelps posted the world’s top times for 2015 in each event.