Grand Prix Series

 Sutton sails to top of Grand Prix leaderboard

After announcing she would forgo her college eligibility in lieu of turning pro, 18-year-old Chloe Sutton has wasted no time in making her mark in the pool.

After just two of the eight stops in the USA Swimming Grand Prix series, Sutton heads up the leaderboard with a five-point lead over the likes of world record holder Rebecca Soni and Olympian Matt Grevers. The 800m national champion even ranks ahead of three-time Olympian Michael Phelps. If Sutton can hold her lead through the next six Grand Prix events, she will take home a hefty $20,000.

Sutton started her hunt for the bounty in Minnesota where she added four medals, two gold and two silver, to her treasure chest. However, after the trip to Minneapolis, it was Soni who held the top spot on the leaderboard with 18 points while Sutton owned 16 points.

It wasn’t until after the competition in Long Beach that Sutton pulled ahead by adding 15 points to her score, pulling ahead by five. However, Sutton will have her work cut out for her as the series continues. Grevers, who currently has 26 points, earned them all at a single event.

Of course, there are also other swimmers who couldn’t threaten to take ship like Phelps, who swept in the back-half of the series in ’08 to steal the overall series title from Mary DeScenza. Stay tuned to the next stop in Columbia, Missouri to see who maintains ship and who is forced to walk the plank on February12-14. To view results from Grand Prix meets, click here.