• Full Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – USA Swimming National Team member Ashley Twichell (Fayetteville, N.Y./TAC Titans) and Demark’s Anton Ipsen took home the 800-meter freestyle titles Wednesday in the opening session of the TYR Pro Swim Series at Knoxville at the University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

Twichell earned the women’s 800m free title in 8 minutes, 32.27 seconds ahead of fellow National Team members Erica Sullivan (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Northern KY Clippers), who touched in 8:37.39 and 8:38.14, respectively.

“I’m pretty happy with it,” Twichell said about her victory. “I’m not really rested or anything for this meet, just kind of checking in. I’m really focused on Open Water Nationals for the next few months, so I did 26 or 27,000 meters in the past Monday and Tuesday.”

Ipsen took the men’s win in 8:00:34, 9 seconds clear of Taylor Abbott (Cedar Park, Texas/Tennessee Aquatics), who placed second in 8:09.54. Canada’s Jeremy Bagshaw was third in 8:12.81.

The four-day, long-course meters competition runs through Saturday with daily prelims at 9 a.m. EST and evening finals at 6 p.m. EST. All-session and single-session tickets to catch the world’s best swimmers in action are on sale now at usaswimming.org.

The Olympic Channel will air live finals coverage from Knoxville at 6 p.m. EST on Thursday and Friday, followed by a same-day delay broadcast on NBC Sports Network. The NBC Sports app will stream coverage on Saturday. A live webcast of prelims and the Wednesday, Jan. 9 timed finals session will stream online at usaswimming.org.

Across the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series, swimmers may earn increased awards for top-three finishes. At each meet, $1,500 will be provided for a first-place finish, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. In addition, one athlete per gender with the highest-scoring prelim swim in an individual Olympic event based on FINA power points will win $1,500.

The TYR Pro Swim Series is being brought to Knoxville in partnership with the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Tennessee Aquatics.

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