Hawaii Open Water Swim
Story from SwimSwam
US Olympians Wilimovsky, Twichell, and Peirsol Race in Hawaii Open Water Swim
by Braden Keith
July 10th, 2021
There were a pair of surprise entrants on Saturday at the Aloha Salads Summer Sprint 1 mile race at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu on Saturday: Tokyo 2020 Olympians Ashley Twichell and Jordan Wilimovsky.
Twichell and Wilimovsky are currently in Hawaii as part of the American training camp preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games. Team USA will soon depart for their final preparations camp in Tokyo.
But that’s not before two of the three Americans qualified to swim the open water 10km took on a quick trial race on the North Shore.
Haley Anderson, the other American open water qualifier, doesn’t appear in the race results.
Wilimovsky won the 1-mile race in 19:02.2, with Twichell placing 2nd in 19:23.3. The top amateur finisher was 13-year old Zachary Tower, who is part of a team from Team Santa Monica in California that participated in the event. Tower finished in 20:16.6.
The top-finishing female amateur was another Team Santa Monica swimmer: 15-year old Amelia Hines, who crossed the finishline in 21:24.5. 16-year old Mattea Sokolow was just behind in 21:24.7.
Wilimovsky and Twichell weren’t the only Olympians to participate: 37-year old Aaron Peirsol, who won 5 Olympic gold medals and 2 Olympic silver medals while competing at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games, also swam the event. He placed 349th overall.
While the Americans’ COVID-19 safety protocols prevent them from congregating with the general public, the open water swimmers were given permission to participate briefly in the race, though they made a quick exit from the venue to try to stay in line with the spirit of the event.
The open water events will take place after pool swimming at this summer’s Olympic Games. The women’s 10km race will be held on August 4 and the men’s 10km race will be held on August 5. The races will be held at the Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo Bay.
In the winter, Waimea is one of a number of North Shore beaches famed for surfing competitions among massive waves reaching 60 feet or more. In the summer, though, the Bay is generally clear and calm, making for better swimming conditions.
The event is part of the North Shore Swim Series, which includes 5 races.
408 swimmers participated in the event this year.
