Peterson Takes Fifth In World Championships in 25K Event

LAKE BALATON, HUNGARY – Chip Peterson, a 2010 University of North Carolina alumnus, turned in the highest finish among the American contingent Friday in the 25-kilometer open water race at the 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships. The 29-year-old Peterson, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of North Carolina, placed fifth in the men's competition.

Peterson, originally from Pine Knoll Shores, N.C., trains for the North Carolina Aquatic Club where he is coached by UNC head mentor Rich DeSelm and his staff, which includes Duncan Sherrard, Sean Quinn and Christy Garth.

"Chip had a terrific swim today in the 25K," said DeSelm. "This was his first time racing this distance and to place fifth in the world in outstanding. Chip has competed on the national and world stages for many years and today's swim is certainly a testament to his dedication, grit and passion for the sport. Chip begins a new chapter of his life soon as he will begin medical school In Chapel Hill in a few weeks."

Peterson finished fifth with a time of 5 hours, 3 minutes, 43 seconds. He was less than a minute off the gold medal time of 5:02.46.4 by France's Axel Reymond. Italy's Matteo Furlan took silver, four tenths of a second behind Furlan and Evgenii Drattcev of Russia was third in 5:02.49.8.

"I thought it was a pretty comfortable pace for a lot of the race. I pushed a 1,000 pretty hard around 17.5K, hoping that I would get a little bit of a break when we were going around the women's pack," said Peterson in looking back on his race. "This being my first time doing this event, I thought that was a little risky, but I think that helped to break the men's pack up and got me a top-five finish. I was hurting at the end, but still happy with that for the first time competing in that event."

Peterson attended UNC from 2006-10. The Pine Knoll Shores, N.C., native was a multiple year NCAA All-America and as a senior he won the 1,650-yard freestyle at the ACC Championships in Koury Natatorium. He won the Patterson Medal later that year as UNC's outstanding senior athlete. He is one of the most decorated and respected swimmers and student-athletes in UNC history.

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

General Notes
• Competing in his fifth FINA World Championships, Peterson swam the 25K distance for the first time.
• Peterson now has top-five career FINA World Championships finishes in all three individual distances: 5K, 10K and 25K.
• The United States completes the open water portion of the 2017 FINA World Championships with three medals – one gold and two silver – to tie for third in the medal table. France led the way with six medals.
• Team USA finished third in the team standings with 97 points, training only Italy (133) and France (120).

Open Water Men's 25K – Final (Lake Balaton, Hungary)

Results – Full Results
Gold: Axel Reymond (FRA), 5:02:46.4
Silver: Matteo Furlan (ITA), 5:02:47.0
Bronze: Evgenii Drattcev (RUS), 5:02:49.8
5. Chip Peterson (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C./North Carolina Aquatic Club), 5:03.43
DNF. Simon Lamar (Sonora, Calif./FAST Swim Team)
Up Next
Sunday, July 23-Sunday, July 31: FINA World Championships Pool Competition

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