Saturday, April 17, 2021
Sandpipers of Nevada Swimmers Thrive in Open Water Junior National 5K
The 2021 Open Water National and Junior National Championships continued this morning with the junior 5K event. Over 60 swimmers competed, and four Sandpipers of Nevada swimmers came away with top-three finishes between the men's and women's events.
The men’s race kicked off the morning, seeing lead changes throughout, finishing with just over two second separating the top-three times. Ilya Kharun (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) took the title in 1:02.50 followed by Alex Ayers (Charlotte, N.C./SwimMAC Carolina) in 1:02.51 and Luke Ellis (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) in 1:02.52.
“It was very tiring, the last lap got tough with all the waves, but it felt good racing with everyone,” Kharun said. “The last lap, I felt more power and I could feel that I was getting with the top two and then I got out ahead of them.”
The women’s event featured new 2021-22 U.S. Open Water National Team selection Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) holding the lead nearly from start to finish. She finished in 1:04.04 for first. Grimes’ Sandpipers of Nevada teammate and fellow U.S. Open Water National Team selectee Bella Sims (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) touched second in 1:04.46, while Cadence Fort (Estero, Fla./Gulf Coast Swim Team) finished third in 1:04.54.
"It was great," Grimes said. "It was really hard today, the waves were really big. I have a great time every time I do open water and it was a great field of girls so it was a lot of fun.”
The competition concludes Sunday with 5K and junior 7.5K.