Stuhlmacher Earns Gold on Opening Day at the 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Junior World Championships
Claire Stuhlmacher (Henrico, Va./NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc.) held off her competitors and claimed gold (2:09:16.20) in the women’s 10-kilometer on the opening day of the 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Junior World Championships in Alghero, Italy. American Sianna Savarda (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) joined her in the race, finishing in 21st place.
In the men’s 10k earlier in the day, Ryan Erisman (Windermere, Fla. Laker Swim) went 2:07:38.90, placing 21st.
Men’s 10K – FINAL
21 – Ryan Erisman (Windermere, Fla. Laker Swim, 2:07:38.90
DNF – Luke Ellis (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada)
Women’s 10K – FINAL
GOLD – Claire Stuhlmacher (Henrico, Va./NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc.), 2:09:15.90
21 – Sianna Savarda (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), 2:25:44.90
Stuhlmacher on the three-person race to the finish: “The other two girls passed me right before the finish, and I told myself to stay in the top three. Then I told myself, ‘No, you just led this last lap. You can’t just get top three.’ So, I fought hard until I hit the touchpad.”
Stuhlmacher on her improvement since placing fourth in the 7.5k at 2022 World Juniors: “This is only my fourth 10k ever, and it’s a different race than the 7.5k. In the 7.5k two years ago I was alone for a lot of it, up until the last lap. In this race, it was more of a pack, so I had people to work with. I felt a lot more teamwork was going on with all of the girls. We all swam together pretty well.”
The competition continues through Sunday, September 8 in Alghero, Italy. Tomorrow’s finals feature the women’s and men’s 5K and 7.5K. Events begin at 1 p.m. CEST/7 a.m. ET. Competition can be streamed on World Aquatics’ YouTube Channel, while additional information can be found here.
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