TIBURON, California, September 29. IN the always-exciting RCP Tiburon Mile, where the winner takes all in the form of a $10,000 check, Polish Olympian Mateusz Sawrymowicz and U.S. Open Water National Teamer Ashley Twichell ran to victory at the finish line.
Sawrymowicz beat Trojan Swim Club teammate Ous Mellouli for the win, while two-time defending champion Kane Radford wound up taking third in the men’s finale. Sawrymowicz finished first for the men in a 23:46, the only swimmer to break the 24-minute mark. Mellouli attempted to make a bee-line from the beaches of Angel Island to the docks of the Tiburon, but ran into perpendicular strong current in the open harbor water. Mellouli finished second with a 24:02. The typically pool-focused Sawrymowicz could be looking at a career resurgence in the open water, or may just be riding high on beginner’s luck, as he admitted post-race that he went into the RCP Tiburon mile without much race-day preparation.
Six years ago, the Sawrymowicz stood atop the distance freestyle mountain in the pool with a win in the men’s 1500-meter free at the 2007 Melbourne World Championships. That was the first time someone beat the legendary Grant Hackett in the event in 10 years. Since, Sawrymowicz has always been on the outskirts of the 1500 free with international medals sprinkled throughout the years. A focus on open water, however, could give him some newfound career inertia.
Obviously these two are friendly rivals! Finish of the RCP Tiburon pic.twitter.com/gL3VrK99aY– SwimmingWorld (@SwimmingWorld) September 29, 2013
On the women’s side, Twichell found the true meaning of “third time is the charm.” After nearly beaching herself on some rocks during her first RCP attempt in 2011, losing the top women’s spot to Melissa Gorman in 2012, Twichell this year sprinted first among the women onto the beaches. Twichell posted a 25:09, finishing ninth in the overall field, and first among the women, as the IX3 swimmer took down Haley Anderson of Trojan for the win. Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain managed to finish third.
Twichell has moved on to a new stage in her career as she and best friend Chloe Sutton recently left Mission Viejo to head cross country to North Carolina as part of the IX3 Sports initiative founded by Charlie Houchin.
Ashely Twitchell post RCP win pic.twitter.com/0QuY8EGvtC– SwimmingWorld (@SwimmingWorld) September 29, 2013
Read An Extended Print Article About the 2013 RCP Tiburon Mile in the November Issue of Swimming World Magazine! SUBSCRIBE HERE!
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