Study: Ann Arbor named best swimming city in U.S.
Ann Arbor, Mich., is the best city in the U.S. for swimming, according to a study commissioned by USA Swimming and published on Yahoo! Sports.
More than 60 Olympic swimmers hail from Ann Arbor, and its swimming programs have grown by 16 percent in the last year. The University of Michigan, which calls the city home, has won 12 men's NCAA swimming titles, most recently in 2013.
The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. region finished second, while Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. rounded out the top five.
Bridgeport, Conn., scored high in the amount of kids swimming, while San Francisco leads the nation in seniors who swim.
More from Yahoo! Sports on how the study was conducted:
The cities most favorable to swimmers don't follow any geographic pattern, stretching from sea to sea and north to south. Metrics include the number of swimmers, swim clubs, and accessible pools, as well as the number of standout swimmers springing from each locale.
Arguably USA Swimming's most famous swimmers, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, are from Towson, Md., and Rochester, N.Y., respectively. The Baltimore-Towson area ranks 40th on the list, while Rochester came in at No. 49.
- Evan Webeck
