Saturday, July 15, 2023
Grimes, Denigan Earn Top-Eight Finishes at World Aquatics Open Water Championships
Results
FUKUOKA, Japan – The 2023 World Aquatics Open Water Championships started Saturday at the Seaside Momochi Beach Park in Fukuoka, Japan. The women’s 10K was the lone event of the day, seeing two U.S. athletes place in the top eight.
With her third-place photo finish in today’s 10K, Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) becomes the fourth American woman ever to qualify for the Olympics in an open water event.
Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana University) earned an eighth-place finish to automatically qualify for the 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Championships in Doha, Qatar. A top-13 finish in Doha earns a qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
2023 World Aquatics Open Water Medal Table
Women’s 10K – FINAL
Bronze – Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), 2:02.42.30
Eighth – Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana University), 2:03.13.50
Grimes on her performance: “I knew it was a photo finish, so I was a little anxious waiting for those results but ultimately, it came out good. I was in a little bit of shock because (making the Olympic team) was such a big goal of mine, I just didn’t think it was going to come this soon. (The feeling) is a mixture of a lot of things – relief, excitement and joy, and thinking of all the work we have done to get to this point. I trained for this every day, and this is one part of my future goals.”
“Right now, I’m putting this race in the bag because I still have so much I need to focus on. It’s okay to be excited; now it’s about thinking about what’s next. It is definitely something I can go back to and celebrate when all my races are done but now, I’m focusing on my next open water race (5K) and then pool competition.”
Denigan on qualifying for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships: “I’m super excited having qualified for 2024 World (Aquatics Championships) in Doha, which is an Olympic qualifier for open water. It’s just one step closer to the ultimate goal – making it to Paris 2024.”
“The conditions, like current, were really nice. The water was definitely working with us. I think the hardest part of that race was the aggression and quick speed (from other competitors) throughout the entire 10K.”
Race Notes
FUKUOKA, Japan – The 2023 World Aquatics Open Water Championships started Saturday at the Seaside Momochi Beach Park in Fukuoka, Japan. The women’s 10K was the lone event of the day, seeing two U.S. athletes place in the top eight.
With her third-place photo finish in today’s 10K, Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) becomes the fourth American woman ever to qualify for the Olympics in an open water event.
Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana University) earned an eighth-place finish to automatically qualify for the 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Championships in Doha, Qatar. A top-13 finish in Doha earns a qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
2023 World Aquatics Open Water Medal Table
| Federation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Germany | 1 | 1 | ||
| Australia | 1 | 1 | ||
| United States | 1 | 1 |
Women’s 10K – FINAL
Bronze – Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada), 2:02.42.30
Eighth – Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana University), 2:03.13.50
Grimes on her performance: “I knew it was a photo finish, so I was a little anxious waiting for those results but ultimately, it came out good. I was in a little bit of shock because (making the Olympic team) was such a big goal of mine, I just didn’t think it was going to come this soon. (The feeling) is a mixture of a lot of things – relief, excitement and joy, and thinking of all the work we have done to get to this point. I trained for this every day, and this is one part of my future goals.”
“Right now, I’m putting this race in the bag because I still have so much I need to focus on. It’s okay to be excited; now it’s about thinking about what’s next. It is definitely something I can go back to and celebrate when all my races are done but now, I’m focusing on my next open water race (5K) and then pool competition.”
Denigan on qualifying for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships: “I’m super excited having qualified for 2024 World (Aquatics Championships) in Doha, which is an Olympic qualifier for open water. It’s just one step closer to the ultimate goal – making it to Paris 2024.”
“The conditions, like current, were really nice. The water was definitely working with us. I think the hardest part of that race was the aggression and quick speed (from other competitors) throughout the entire 10K.”
Race Notes
- Grimes finished the first lap in third place, just three seconds back from the leader. Halfway through the race, she was in second, closing a 14-second gap.
- After the first lap, Grimes had the lowest stroke rate of the field (low 60s); all other competitors were at mid-70s and above.