NCAC Swimmer Twichell Secures Second Medal At World Championships

LAKE BALATON, HUNGARY – Ashley Twichell of the North Carolina Aquatic Club won her second medal of the 2017 Open Water World Championships on Thursday, bringing home a silver medal in the five-kilometer team relay at Lake Balaton, Hungary.

Twichell, a Duke alumna who lives in Apex, N.C., trains at the North Carolina Aquatic Club in Chapel Hill with UNC head coach Rich DeSelm and his staff of assistants which includes Duncan Sherrard, Sean Quinn and Christy Garth. On Wednesday, she had won a gold medal in the five-kilometer women's individual open water event.

The USA silver medal team on Thursday included Brendan Casey of Santa Monica, Calif., Twichell, Haley Anderson of Granite Bay, Calif. (Trojan Swim Club) and Jordan Wilimovsky of Malibu, Calif. (Team Santa Monica). The quartet finished second in the event with a time of 54 minutes, 18.1 seconds. France won the gold medal in a time of 54 minutes, 5.9 seconds. Italy took home bronze in 54 minutes, 31 seconds.

Twichell was excited about winning her second medal of the Championships. Twichell took advantage of the mixed relay format and the chance to compete side-by-side with male swimmers.

"A couple of them came up on me, and I tried to stay on their feet. I felt like I was drafting pretty well, and then I had a few more come up on either side of me," she said. "They're pretty strong, so it takes a little bit out of you, but I stayed with them as best as I could.

Notes on Thursday's Event from U.S. Swimming Communications
• Casey gave the United States a seven-second lead after the first 1.25K leg.
• Swimming against many male competitors, Twichell tagged Anderson with Team USA in fifth at the 2.5K mark. The U.S. was 27 seconds behind race leader Great Britain at that point.
• Anderson kept Team USA in fifth through 3.75K, 52 seconds behind Great Britain.
• On the anchor, Wilimovsky made up considerable ground and swam the U.S. into second position, finishing 12 seconds behind gold medalist France.
• Each athlete swam 1.25K to complete the 5K distance. This format was making its debut at the FINA World Championships.
• With today's silver-medal finish, Twichell and Wilimovsky claimed their second medals of the 2017 FINA World Championships. Twichell now has four career medals at world open water championships; Wilimovsky has three. Anderson wins her third career world championships medal, while Casey claims his first.
• Twichell is now the first American athlete with four career FINA World Championships open water medals, and Wilimovsky joins Chip Peterson as the only men with three career medals. Peterson, who swims Friday in the championships in the men's 25K, is a 2010 Tar Heel alumnus and a volunteer assistant coach on DeSelm's coaching staff at UNC.

Key Links
Open Water World Championships Results
FINA World Championships Site
USA Swimming Media Guide (PDF)

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Friday, July 21: Women's 25K, Men's 25K

NCAC Swimmer Twichell Secures Second Medal At World Championships

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