SARASOTA, Fla. – The 2025 Open Water National & Junior National Championships kicked off this morning with the 10K, where Brinkleigh Hansen (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics) and Kyle Lee (AUS) took home titles. The event serves as a qualifier for the USA Swimming Open Water National Team, Open Water National Junior Team, and U.S. rosters for the 2025 World Aquatics Open Water Championships and World Aquatics Open Water Junior Championships.  

The top two American finishers in the 10K qualified for the 2025 World Aquatics Open Water Championships in Singapore this July. 

Women’s 10K – FINAL 

1. Brinkleigh Hansen (Saint Petersburg, Fla./Saint Petersburg Aquatics), 2:04:09 

2. Claire Weinstein (White Plains, N.Y./Sandpipers of Nevada), 2:04:11 

3. Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana University), 2:04:16 

4. Brooke Travis (Newark, Del./NC State), 2:04:46 

5. Misa Okuzono (JPN), 2:04:53 

6. Ichika Kajimoto (JPN), 2:05:21 

Hansen on her approach to the final stretch of the race: “I was just believing in myself and was happy to be racing people whom I have always looked up to. It was a great experience.” 

Hansen on qualifying to represent Team USA at the upcoming World Aquatics Open Water Championships: “I was in Italy (for last year’s Open Water World Junior Championships) and that was such a great experience. I can’t wait to represent Team USA again.” 

Weinstein on qualifying for Open Water World Championships: “It’s super exciting. I’ve never been to Worlds for Open Water, so I’m excited for my first time. It’s also amazing that one of my Junior Team teammates made it too, so I’m super proud of Brinkleigh and am excited to swim with her in Singapore.” 

Men’s 10K – FINAL 

1. Kyle Lee (AUS), 1:53:38 

2. Thomas Raymond (AUS), 1:53:38 

3. Dylan Gravley (Las Vegas, Nev./Sun Devil Swimming), 1:53:40 

4. Joey Tepper (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./University of Minnesota), 1:53:41 

5. Ivan Puskovitch (West Chester, Pa./TSM Aquatics), 1:53:43 

6. Charlie Clark (Sandusky, Ohio/Ohio State University), 1:54:04 

Gravley on his finish: “I knew I was in good company, so my mind was kind of racing. I didn’t know how I was going to finish. I was just trying to keep my head down straight, not make any brash decisions, and see if I could finish strong.” 

Tepper on qualifying for Singapore: “I had been really focused on my NCAA season, and with that, I tapered for Big 10’s and tapered again for NCAA’s last week, so it’s been about a month and a half since I’ve done more than two practices that are over 5K. I knew I needed to be one of the ones swimming the easiest out there, and I feel like I did a really good job finding easy spots, especially at the end. I’m really happy I was able to get my hand on the wall when I did, and I’m super excited to be going back to Worlds – I loved Singapore the last time I went. I’ve wanted to go back because it’s a beautiful country and I’m super excited to be going with people I really like and have been racing with for a while.” 

Competition continues tomorrow with the 5K Junior National Championship. The men’s race begins at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the women’s race at 8:35 a.m. ET. 

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