1-2 Finish for American Women in 3k Knockout Sprint on Day Three of 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Junior World Championships
American women continue to top the podium at the 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Junior World Championships. In the only event of the day, Claire Weinstein (White Plains, N.Y./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Brinkleigh Hansen (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics) secured a gold-silver finish in the women's 3-kilometer knockout sprint.
Debuting at this meet, the 3km knockout sprint featured athletes competing in the 1500-meter, 1000m, and 500m consecutively. Two heats of athletes swam 1500m, with the top 10 finishers from each heat advancing to the next round. After a break, 20 athletes raced the 1000m in the semifinal. The top 10 swimmers, after the semifinals, qualified for the finals heat, where each swimmer completed a 500m to decide the medalists.
Weinstein placed third in heat one (17:33.90), first in the semifinal (11:10.50), and earned gold in the finals (5:50.80). Hansen placed second in heat two (17:51.40), third in the semifinal (11:11.70), and claimed silver behind her teammate in the finals (6:00.00).
Ryan Erisman (Windermere, Fla./Laker Swim) and Luke Ellis (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) competed in the men's 3k knockout sprint. Erisman placed second in heat two (16:33.70) and 11th in the semifinal (10:23.80). Ellis placed third in heat two (16:34.90) and 20th in the semifinal (10:49.70).
Men’s 3K Knockout Sprint
11– Ryan Erisman (Windermere, Fla./Laker Swim), 10:23.80
20 – Luke Ellis (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), 10:49.70
Women’s 3K Knockout Sprint
GOLD – Claire Weinstein (White Plains, N.Y./Sandpipers of Nevada), 5:50.80
SILVER – Brinkleigh Hansen (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics), 6:00.00
Weinstein on her breakout race: “I wanted to go in conserving as much energy for the 500. From there, it was super technical, and I had fun figuring out how to go about each race. It was nerve-wracking to have breaks between swims, but we do stuff like this in practice all the time. I tapped into the training that we have done. It turned out well in the end.”
Weinstein on seeing teammate Hansen finish: “It was the best feeling ever to move on each round with Brinkleigh. Seeing her come in second and us going 1-2 was the best feeling to do it for Team USA.”
Hansen on finishing with her teammate: “I was just happy that I was able to do it. Being in the 1500, I got a little nervous because there was a lot of aggression. As the race went on, being able to advance with Claire (Weinstein) was a special moment. I had Claire believing in me to get that second place.”
The competition concludes tomorrow, Sunday, September 8 in Alghero, Italy. Tomorrow’s finals feature the mixed 4x1500m relay events for 14–16-year-olds and 18-year-olds and younger. Events begin at 9 a.m. CEST/3 a.m. ET. Competition can be streamed on World Aquatics’ YouTube Channel, while additional information can be found here.
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