Who will win WVVAs Race for the Gold?
Read about our swimmers below, then make your pick for the winner! Tune in to WVVA News at 6 on July 23 to watch the race. Hannah Howard Glenn Kittle Annie Moore Christina Kass    Hannah Howard  WVVA's Sports Director, Hannah Howard, started swimming competitively at four years old when she joined her club team, the Winter Haven Stingrays, in her hometown of Winter Haven, Florida. Hannah qualified for her first club swimming championship meet at eight years old, and went on to qualify each year through her senior year of high school. She had multiple first place and top three finishes along the way. Hannah began her high school swimming career in the 6th grade at Oasis Christian Academy, swimming every school year through her senior year. Hannah had a successful high school career, winning her first district title in the 6th grade and each year to follow. She qualified for the regional meets all seven years that she swam for her high school team, with several top three finishes under her belt. Hannah advanced to the Florida Class A State Championship swim meet her sophomore and senior years of high school. She was named to the all-county team seven times, each year she swam for her high school team. Hannah retired from swimming in 2016, after her final championship swim meet her senior year of high school. Glenn Kittle  Our Mercer County reporter Glenn Kittle is a native of Torrington, Conneticut where he swam for four years on the Torrington High School Red Raiders swim team. He also swam for the Torrington YMCA Lasers for 3 years during that time. Glenn never thought about taking the swimming path. "My family was always into the three major sports, football, basketball and baseball," he said. "My sister was a diver and pretty much forced me into the first practice. At first I hated it, but fell in love with the competition." Glenn nearly drowned his very first practice, but stuck with it anyway because of the peer pressure which is a decision he never regretted. He struggled to find his footing in events such as butterfly and backstroke, but during his junior and senior years, he switched to freestyle sprint events where he had break out seasons. The former captain has won medals in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and was the proud anchor in the THS 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay that made it all the way to the state open. Annie Moore  WVVA's Beckley Bureau reporter, Annie Moore, brings years of swimming experience to the race. Annie swam Division I at Georgetown University and was a World Championship Qualifier in 2001, and a US National team member for World Championships in Egypt in 2001. That race ended up being canceled due to September 11. She placed second at US Nationals in Newport Beach, California. Annie finished in the Top 100 in the world in the 1500 Freestyle in 1998. Annie hung up her swim cap years ago, and has not been in a pool for nearly two decades. She didn't own a swim suit until agreeing to participate in this race, but is ready to fight for the win. Christina Kass  Our Weekend Anchor Christina Kass started swimming competitively with the H20 Hokies at the age of 8 in her hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia. After realizing that swimming might not be her strongest suit, Christina continued to strive for the gold, training with the Hethwood Hurricanes in her late middle school and early high school years. During her four years of summer club swimming, she rose to a level of high mediocrity, and eventually qualified for league championships in the latter two summers. After finding high school soccer to be much more of her forte, Christina hung up her swimsuit and hasnt returned to any form of an aquatic facility until this race was planned.