Santa Clara swimming facility closed indefinitely
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KRON) – Hundreds of young swimmers in the South Bay are left without a place to train just weeks before Olympic tryouts. The city of Santa Clara abruptly shut down the International Swim Center last week.
After swim practice last Thursday evening, swimmers returned to the swim center Friday morning to find the gates locked, with a sign saying the facility was closed.
“We were not expecting to be out overnight,” said Kevin Zacher, the head coach of the Santa Clara Swim Club.
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About 1,500 kids are in the swim club, and 5-10 of those young swimmers are currently training for the Olympics.
“Aiming to qualify for the Olympic trials and have a shot at going to Paris. This really is devastating in their efforts,” Zacher said.
A member of a local high school dive team says he will have to practice his diving on a trampoline.
“It will definitely negatively impact my performance, especially since the diving season is coming up and I was hoping to get more practice in the water,” said the diver, Mostafa Abdelkawy.
The International Swim Center is known for training and producing Olympic winners. Santa Clara city officials say they shut down the pool indefinitely due to mechanical issues.
Coach Zacher says more than 80 Olympic medals have been awarded to Santa Clara Swim Club members, but now potential Olympians don’t have access to an Olympic pool to train in.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “The city certainly doesn’t have enough facilities by themselves to fit us in. That’s the hard part.”
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