USA Open Water Championships: Mariah Denigan Holds off Hansen, Twichell for 10K Title
The 2026 USA Swimming Open Water Championships kicked off with the women’s and men’s 10K national championship Thursday in Sarasota, Florida.
Olympian Mariah Denigan, now training at Ohio State, was able to hold off the field to win the women’s race in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 54 seconds.
Three other swimmers finished within 13 seconds of the winner in the field of 35 finishers. Saint Petersburg Aquatics’ Brinkleigh Hansen was just eight seconds behind, taking second place with a swim of 2:04:02.
Third place went to Olympic veteran Ashley Twichell, swimming for the TAC Titans, who crossed the finish line in 2:04:04, 10 seconds behind Denigan. Just three seconds behind Twichell was her TAC Titan and Team USA teammate Becca Mann, who finished in 2:04:07 for fourth place.
Fifth place went to Long Island Aquatic Club’s Alex Siegal, who crossed the finish line in 2:04:24.
Another TAC Titans swimmer followed as Brooke Travis took sixth in 2:05:32.
The top six finishers in both the men’s and women’s fields will receive invitationals to a pair of World Cup events in the next month – April 24 in Ibiza, Spain, and May 1 in Golfo Aranci, Italy. This race and the two World Cup races will be part of a points-based system to determine the four Americans of each gender representing the nation at the Pan Pacific Championships this summer.
Canada’s Emma Finlin (2:05:34) and Delphine Piatera-Mercier (2:07:41) took seventh and 10th, respectively. That was enough for Finlin to qualify to represent Swimming Canada at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships.
Gold Medal Swim Club’s Paige Downey finished eighth in 2:05.49 and ninth place went to Ohio State’s Mila Nikaronov, who crossed the finish line in 2:07.19.
On the men’s side, Denigan’s fellow Paris Olympian Ivan Puskovitch got the win in 1:55.05. Swimming for TSM Aquatics, Puskovitch bested Dylan Gravley by three seconds.
They separated from the leading pack late. Collin Jacobs was third in 1:55.25, two seconds up on Minnesota’s Joey Tepper and three seconds ahead of Joshua Brown of Sandpipers of Nevada.
The Texas duo of Aiden Hammer was sixth in 1:55.45, a minute up on Longhorn Aquatics mate Alexander Lyubavskiy.
Among the collegians in the field, Luke Ellis of Indiana finished 11th. Kentucky’s Levi Sandidge was 13th, and Charlie Clark of Ohio State was 15th. Sandpipers had two top-10 swimmers, with Gabriel Manteufel in 10th.
Canadians Colt Chaires and Simon Fonseca finished 28th and 40th, respectively, to qualify for Pan Pacs.