Oct. 4, 2012

Short Course World Championships Roster

STANFORD, Calif. - Junior Maya DiRado has been named to the United States squad which will compete at the 2012 FINA Short Course World Championships (Dec. 12-16) in Istanbul, Turkey. DiRado, who will swim the 100-, 200- and 400-meter individual medley, is one of 43 swimmers named to Team USA along with 2012 Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte and Allison Schmitt.

Held every two years, the Short Course World Championships will mark the first major international competition for many U.S. swimmers since their dominant performance at this summer's Olympic Games in London.

The U.S. roster in Istanbul will feature a total of 17 Olympians, including reigning FINA Short Course World Champion Lochte, who earned six gold medals and one silver medal at the last Short Course World Championships in Dubai. Schmitt, a two-time Olympian, will compete in her first Short Course World Championships this December.

The U.S. swimmers selected to compete at the Short Course World Championships were chosen based upon their performance at any of the three meets: the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 2012 Olympic Games or the 2012 U.S. Open.

The showdown in Istanbul will be the 11th FINA Short Course World Championships, an event which has been held every two years since the inaugural 1993 Championships in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The event in Istanbul will take place at the Sinan Erdem Dome, which is a multi-purpose indoor arena that is located on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey.

The defending Pac-12 Conference champion and school record holder in the 200 back, DiRado is a nine-time All-American and swam at last summer's U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. At the Trials, DiRado finished fourth in both the 200 and 400 individual medley.

No stranger to international competition, DiRado picked up a gold medal at the 2011 World University Games in China with a win in the 400 individual medley.