Crippen, Fabian Win 2008 USA Swimming 5k Open Water Titles

Fran Crippen of Mission Viejo Nadadores won the men’s title today at the USA Swimming 5K Open Water National Championships in Fort Myers, Fla. His time was 55 minutes, 54.5 seconds. Thirteen-year-old Eva Fabian of Greenwood Memorial Swim Club took the women’s race, finishing in 1 hour, 2 minutes and 6.2 seconds. Today’s race marked the first open water national titles for both swimmers. The USA Swimming 25K Open Water National Championships will be held Tuesday, June 3 in Fort Myers.

Results - 2008 USA Swimming 5K Open Water National Championships

Open Water Championships Host Site

Crippen, who finished second at last year’ s 5K National Championships, won this year’s race by a good margin, crossing the finish line almost 30 seconds ahead of Cody Kauffman (unattached). Kaufmann was second in 56:20.2, followed by Nicholas Caldwell (57:00.8), Tyler Harris (57:04.3) and Michael Daup (57:06.1).

Fabian finished more than a minute ahead of her next closest competitor, Colleen Gordon (1:03:46.1). Whitney Sprague of was third in 1:04:19.8, while Nicole Vernon (1:04:20.4) and Kassia Shishkoff (1:04:20.5) rounded out the top five.