Off and Swimming

Alex Meyer (pictured with Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris) won Swimmer of the Meet and Career High Point Swimmer honors at the 2010 Ivy League Championships. Meyer won the 500-, 1,000- and 1,650-free at the event.

Harvard graduate Alex Meyer ’10 became the first U.S. swimmer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics when he placed fourth in the FINA Open Water World Championship 10-kilometer race on July 20, 2011 in Shanghai, China. With that early entry, the Ivies were off and running in terms of sending athletes to the London Games, a number that would ultimately reach 48.

Meyer captured the U.S. national title in the 10k in June of 2011 with a time of 2:05:36.90. Then in Shanghai, he posted a time of 1:54:33.10, just 8.4 seconds off of  Spyros Gianniotis’ (Greece) winning time.

Meyer has subsequently been featured in several recent articles in the lead up to the London Games:

On May 13, John Powers of The Boston Globe/Boston.com wrote an in-depth piece on Meyer as he prepared for London:
Alex Meyer focusing on the open water of Olympics

On July 18, Liz Clarke of the Washington Post wrote about Meyer and the grueling nature of marathon swimming:
U.S. marathon swimmer Alex Meyer relished competing in the grueling event

On July 22, ESPN.com’s Bonnie D. Ford wrote about Meyer’s friendship with the late Fran Crippen:
Alex Meyer swimming with a purpose

On July 23, SI.com’s Sarah Kwak wrote a piece to accompany a video feature titled “The longest swim at London 2012″ (which first aired on NBCSN at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24):
With Games approaching, Crippen is never far from Meyer’s thoughts

On July 24, Grantland’s Louisa Thomas wrote an extensive story:
Marathon Man