USA Swimming commenced it 2026 Open Water National and Junior National Championships in Sarasota, Florida with the women’s 10 km race this morning.
With one lap to go in the 6-loop course, 37-year-old mother-of-two 2020 Tokyo Olympian Ashley Twichell (37, MSF bio here, World Aquatics bio here, @atwall616) was in the lead followed by 2024 Paris Olympian Mariah Denigan (23, MSF bio here, World Aquatics bio here, @mariahdenigan), national teamer Brinkleigh Hansen (17, World Aquatics bio here, @brinkleigh_hansen), and long-time USA National Team veteran Becca Mann (29, MSF bio here, World Aquatics bio here, @becca__mann). Denigan ultimately dropped the hammer and pulled away from the lead pack while the teenager Hansen held off Twichell, a mother of two young children.
10 km Women’s Results – Top 7 Finishers
- Mariah Denigan, 23, Ohio State University
- Brinkleigh Hansen, 17, St Petersburg Aquatics
- Ashley Twichell, 37, TAC Titans
- Becca Mann, 29, TAC Titans
- Alex Siegel, 16, Long Island Aquatic Club
- Brooke Travis, 26, TAC Titans
- Emma Finlin, 21, Canada
The remaining race results will follow after official confirmation of times and places. The remaining competitors included:
- Laila Oravsky, 19, Canada
- Delphine Piatera-Mercier, 18, Canada
- Zoe Tomory, 17, Canada
- Taira Vroom, 19, Canada
- Katherine Warkentin, 17, Canada
- Kaiya Weaver, 17, Canada
- Elleigh Brennan, 18, Peddie Aquatics
- Riley Christensen, 18, Sandpipers of Nevada
- Sadie Davidoff, 18, Long Island Aquatic Club
- Isabella Descent, 17, St Petersburg Aquatics
- Paige Downey, 18, Gold Medal Swim Club
- Maddie Fox, 17, TAC Titans
- Gracie Gregory, 20
- Karrington Hansen, 18, St Petersburg Aquatics
- Clare Herfel, 16, Northern Kentucky Clippers Swimming
- Paige Housman, 22, Kentucky Aquatics
- Sasha Karafin, 17, Long Island Aquatic Club
- Katie McCarthy, 22, University of Minnesota
- Zayda Miehl, 16, Corvalis Aquatic Team
- Mazie Moberly, 17, Gator Swim Club
- Mila Nikanorov, 21, Ohio State University
- Caroline Riggs, 22, Club Mountaineer Aquatics
- Emma Rudowsky, 19, Aquajets Swim Team
- Violet Rutter, 16, Santa Clara Swim Team
- Casey Stephens, 21
- Maddie Stuemke, 17, Kamehameha Swim Club
- Chloe Teger, 17, Orange County Gold
- Karolina Valko, 16, Dallas Mustangs
- Maddie Waggoner, 22, Jersey Wahoos
- Isabella Zarkos, 17, Sandpipers of Nevada
Watch Online
All remaining USA Swimming National Championship races (5 km and 3 km Knockout Sprints) will be live-streamed on the USA Swimming Network. Watch for free here with Mike Lewis as the race announcer.
Personal Commentary
“Michael Jordan has committed his third foul of the game.”
“Quinn Hughes has been sent off to the penalty box.”
“Alex Grimaldo is given a yellow card.”
“Jordan Mailata was called for holding.”
In every other sport, when there are rule infractions or fouls committed by athletes, the referees and announcers publicly explain the infraction or rule and what athlete committed the foul. This knowledge is deemed important to the athletes, their coaches, spectators in the stands, and fans online and watching on television. It is part of the game.
But in the world of open water swimming, officials do not share information on who committed rule infractions or who received a yellow card or red card. The reason that was given is because these rule infractions are considered to be highly confidential personal information and must never be disclosed publicly to anyone, including coaches, spectators, and fans.
This is strange and does not make sense in our contemporary sports world. Such confidentiality and non-disclosure does not seem right in modern-day athletics – especially in this information age. Other sports want to get officiating right. Basketball and football officials review video in real time to determine if a foul actually happened, if it was simply incidental, or if it was flagrant. Then their ruling is announced publicly and immediately. This builds transparency and trust in the sport.
But not in open water swimming.
Key decisions – that often have a direct impact on the race and medalists – are kept secret…forever.
It just not make any sense to me. I am hopeful that one day the governing bodies in open water swimming will determine that publicly announcing the recipients of yellow cards and red cards during a race will elevate the sport and will not interfere with any privacy laws.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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