by Kyle Sagendorph//USA Swimming
The 2023 Open Water National
Championships kicked off Friday morning in Sarasota, Fla., with the 10K
National Championship. Today’s events serve as part of the selection procedures
for the U.S. Open Water National and National Junior Teams, as well as several
international competitions.
The women’s event got things started
for the day and saw last year’s 10K national champion Katie Grimes defend her
title. Her finish qualifies her for the U.S. Open Water National Team and for
the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, which will be held this summer in
Fukuoka, Japan. Grimes’ qualification earns the second Open Water World
Championships roster spot of her career.
“That (qualifying for the World
Aquatics Championships) was obviously the goal,” Grimes said. “It’s nice to get
that off the plate now and focus on pool. Going into the summer, I’m really
happy to represent the U.S. in both open water and hopefully the pool so we
will see how (Phillips 66 National Championships) go.”
The race featured 30 women diving
into the Nathan Benderson Park waters on a day that featured near-perfect
conditions for an open water race. Japan’s Yukimi Moriyama jumped out to an
early lead on lap one of five. The lead eventually would get passed to numerous
swimmers, including Grimes, Claire Weinstein, Kensey McMahon and more.
“It’s definitely one of the closer
races we’ve had for an Open Water Nationals,” Grimes added. “I feel like in the
past it’s been a little bit more spread out but this year, it was pretty tight
for a good majority of the race so that required a lot of strategizing.”
The top-six American finishers
qualify for the U.S. Open Water National Team:
1 – Katie Grimes (Las Vegas,
Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), 1:58:08
2 – Mariah Denigan (Walton,
Ky./Indiana Swim Club), 1:58:23
3 – Claire Weinstein (White Plains,
N.Y./Sandpipers of Nevada), 1:58:24
4 – Ashley Twichell (Fayetteville,
N.Y. /TAC Titans), 1:58:25
6 – Kensey McMahon (Jacksonville,
Fla./University of Alabama Swim Club), 1:59:09
8 – Leah DeGeorge (Jacksonville,
Fla./University of Florida), 2:00:31
The men’s event featured Spain’s
Carlos Garach taking the title in 1:51:05.65, while open water veteran Brennan
Gravley repeated as runner-up by .13 seconds. Finishing as the top American on
Saturday, Gravley qualifies for the third Open Water World Championships of his
career.
“I’m always grateful for the
opportunity,” Gravley said of qualifying for Fukuoka. “Part of being an athlete
in America and swimming domestically, there’s always kids on your team that are
always on your heels. I’m still young myself but as you saw today, there’s
plenty of guys that came in at the finish with us. The sport always keeps you
honest and it’s very intense in a setting like this, that’s kind of pool-like,
not choppy, so it kept us all really close. I’m really excited for the roster
that we might bring to Worlds and the National Team for the summer. I think
there are going to be a lot of really cool opportunities. I can’t wait to be
representing the U.S. again.”
The men’s lead fluctuated until about
the midway point of the race, where Garach and Ivan Puskovitch settled in as
the top two for nearly the remainder of the race. Gravley made a push in the
final lap to surpass numerous swimmers and claim the top-American finisher
title.
The top-six American finishers
qualify for the U.S. Open Water National Team:
2 – Brennan Gravley (Las Vegas,
Nev./University of Florida), 1:51:05.78
3 – Dylan Gravley (Las Vegas,
Nev./Sun Devil Swimming), 1:51:07.77
4 – Joey Tepper (Egg Harbor Township,
N.J./University of Florida), 1:51:11:02
5 – Ivan Puskovitch (West Chester,
Pa./TSM Aquatics), 1:51:13.07
6 – Luke Ellis (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers
of Nevada), 1:51:13.26
9 – Simon Lamar (Hacienda Heights,
Calif./FAST Swim Team), 1:51:31.52
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