June 27, 2001
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech swimmers Leo Salinas and Shilo Ayalon have been selected to compete this summer at both the 2001 FINA World Swimming Championships and the World University Games. The World Swimming Championships will take place on July 22-29 in Fukuoka, Japan, while the World University Games will be held from August 22-September 1 in Beijing, China. The duo is coming off of a solid season in which they helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a school-best third-place finish at the ACC Championships, and a top-30 finish at the NCAA Championships.
“I am very proud of Leo and Shilo,” said Tech head coach Seth Baron. “They had a fantastic season and that hard work has paid off by being able to represent their countries at the World Championships in Japan and the World University Games in China. In addition to representing their countries, they will also be representing Georgia Tech. I’m sure they will represent themselves very well.
“This level of competition will help Leo and Shilo with their swimming careers,” Baron added. “Competing on the world level will only assist them in competing at the ACC and NCAA levels here at Georgia Tech.
Ayalon, a native of Kfar Hanassi, Israel, is coming off of an outstanding sophomore season in which he earned both All-America and All-ACC honors, while setting four individual school records and was a member of a school-record-setting relay team. The junior will be making his first appearance at the World Championships, after competing at the European Championships last year. Ayalon’s top swim of the year as a Yellow Jacket came at the ACC Championships when he finished second in the 1650-yard freestyle with a school-record and NCAA Automatic Qualifying time of 14:58.27. He will compete in three events for Israel at the World Championships, including the 400, 800 and 1500-meter freestyles. Ayalon has trained with the Israeli national team during the summer and swam two legs of the Mare Nostrum International Swimming Circuit in Canet, France, and Barcelona, Spain.
“Shilo had an outstanding year at Tech and he has continued to perform well this summer,” said Tech assistant swimming coach Kit Raulerson. “His work ethic and desire are his talent. No one works harder day in and day out here at Tech than Shilo. There is no secret to his success.”
Salinas, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, was also one of Tech’s top distance freestyle competitors as a junior in 2001, ranking among the team leaders in a number of events, including the 200, 500, 1000 and 1650-yard freestyle. He, like Ayalon, will be making his first appearance at the World Championships for the Mexican Swim Team and will also be competing for the first time at the World University Games. Along with his individual events, Salinas was a member of the Jackets’ 800-yard freestyle relay team along with Ayalon, which recorded a school-record time of 6:38.98 at the ACC Championships. He qualified for the Mexican team based on a point system developed by FINA and, like Ayalon, will swim the 400, 800 and 1500-meter freestyles, along with the 4×200 relay.
“I hope both of them swim well,” said Raulerson. “They have been afforded a unique opportunity to compete with the world’s elite in their sport. World Championships is the pinnacle of the sport of swimming, save for the Olympic Games. It is a great honor to be a part of the event. I am certain they will rise to the occasion.”
