Olympian Kalyn Keller (Phoenix, Ariz. / Club Wolverine) notched a top-10 finish for the Americans in the women’s open water 10K Tuesday, finishing ninth in the Olympic distance at the 12th FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Keller posted a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 10.0 seconds in her third career 10K race. Teammate Chloe Sutton (Roseville, Calif. / California Capital) produced a gutsy performance after losing her goggles at the first feeding pontoon, eventually crossing the finish line in 2:15:00.0 for 28th place.

It was a tight race for the finish as Russia’s Larisa Ilchenko won her second open water gold medal of the meet after capturing the world title in the 5K on Sunday. Her time of 2:03:57.9 was just one second ahead of Great Britain’s Cassandra Patten, who crossed the finish line in 2:03:58.9. Australia’s Kate Brookes-Peterson grabbed her second bronze of the championships, finishing just behind Patten in 2:03:59.5.

Keller stuck with the lead pack throughout the race, never dropping out of the top-10 for the duration of the four-lap course off St. Kilda beach. Keller, a traditional pool swimmer who narrowly missed a medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in the 800m freestyle, was unfazed by the elements, which included a large number of jellyfish in the water.

“All during that race, I just kept thinking, ‘Keep it moving,’” Keller said. “I swam with the mentality that I was going to get first, and getting on the medal stand was a goal. I didn’t, and I’m not too happy about that, but when I put it into perspective, I think getting in the top 10 is good.

“With every race we do, we get a little more experience each time. This one was definitely the toughest I’ve been in so far. I have a new respect for open water swimming. I used to think it was easy, but you’ve got to be tough to do it.”

Sutton got unlucky early in the race when she was jostled by another swimmer and lost her goggles at the first feeding pontoon. She lost more than two minutes waiting for a replacement pair, and by that point, she was well out of the lead. However, she kept churning it out for the next three laps, mainly swimming by herself and picking competitors off one by one.

“To Chloe’s credit, she lost two-and-a-half minutes waiting out there for the goggles, but she kept going,” said Bill Rose, open water head coach. “I think she ended up passing something like 18 people out there in the next period of time. To have that kind of disaster happen and still stand up and do the job by passing all of those people is tremendous.

“It’s a great learning experience, and it’s unfortunate. On the other side of the coin, learning experience or not, we have a higher learning curve than everyone else. We can’t accept that they’re better than us or more experienced than us. We need to move on and cover that gap.”

Open water action resumes Wednesday with the men’s 10K. Scott Kaufmann (Sparks, Nev. / Reno Aquatic Club) and Mark Warkentin (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Barbara Swim Club) will swim their second of three races for Team USA.

QUOTES

• Kalyn Keller
  I swam with the mentality that I was going to get first, and getting on the medal stand was a goal. I didn’t, and I’m not too happy about that, but when I put it into perspective, I think getting in the top 10 is good. In Seville (Spain), if you get top 10, you make the Olympic Team. This was good for my first world championship 10K. Now I know what to expect in terms of the roughness and the fighting that goes on.

  I didn’t really care too much about the jellyfish today. I’m sure there are much worse things out there than jellyfish. It’s the same for everyone. The jellyfish weren’t just after me. Everyone is going through the same thing, so you just have to keep that in perspective.

  It was unfortunate that Chloe got her cap and goggles ripped off because she’s a really tough 15 year old. She’s going to be good. I think the U.S. is going to be strong in open water.

  With every race we do, we get a little more experience each time. This one was definitely the toughest I’ve been in so far. I have a new respect for open water swimming. I used to think it was easy, but you’ve got to be tough to do it.

• Bill Rose
  I’m proud of both of them. For Kalyn, it’s a top 10. If this was Seville (World Cup), she’d be in the Olympics. Anytime you’re in the top 10, you’re an entity. Let’s face it, we’re going against people who have been there, done that many times. In the U.S., we don’t have the same opportunities in open water swimming that many of these athletes do. Considering that, I think it was a great job by Kalyn. But I’m determined that we need to find a way, not only to get better placing, but to get better experience, better understanding, better ability to handle all of the things that go on in an open water 10K.

  To Chloe’s credit, she lost two-and-a-half minutes waiting out there for the goggles, but she kept going. I think she ended up passing something like 18 people out there in the next period of time. It’s a great learning experience, and it’s unfortunate. On the other side of the coin, learning experience or not, we have a higher learning curve than everyone else. We can’t accept that they’re better than us or more experienced than us. We need to move on and cover that gap.

  Chloe just turned 15 years old, and she’s going against people twice her age. To have that kind of disaster happen and still stand up and do the job by passing all of those people is tremendous. The energy it takes to do that can totally deplete you, and that was on the first lap! Chloe did a great thing and showed a lot of will. I’m very proud of her.

  More on the 2007 FINA World Championships - Melbourne, 17 March - 1 April 2007 - Including links to full results.

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