The Rivalry Continues: Haley Anderson vs. Ashley Twichell
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
At Fort Myers Beach in Florida this weekend, USA Swimming will hold its Open Water Swimming National and Junior Championships and selection meet.
Tomorrow, the long-running rivalry between Haley Anderson [shown above] and Ashley Twichell will continue – and it is anyone’s guess who will win tomorrow – or any time the Duke University graduates goes against her USC Trojan rival and USA Swimming national teammate.
On one side, Anderson has a sterling track record:
- Three-time Olympian in 2012, 2016 and 2020 with 1 Olympic silver medalist in 2012 and 5th in 2016.
- Competed at the 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 FINA World Championships with 2 gold medals in the 5 km in 2013 and 2015, 2 silver medals in the 10 km in 2019 and 5 km team relay in 2017, 4th in the 25 km in 2010
- Gold medal in the 1500m freestyle and silver medal in the 800m freestyle at the 2011 World University Games.
- Gold medal in the 10 km and 7th in the 800m freestyle at the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.
- Gold medal in the 10 km at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.
- Domestically, at the USA Swimming National Championships:
- she finished 4th in the 10 km in 2010
- she won the 5 km and finished 8th in 2013
- she won the 10 km and finished 2nd in 2015
- she finished 2nd in the 10 km in 2018 and 3rd in the 400m freestyle and 800m freestyle, 4th in the 1500m freestyle, and 18th in the 200m butterfly in the pool
On the other side, Ashley Twichell also has a distinguished, long track record of success:
- Gold medal in the 5 km team relay and a bronze medal in the 5 km at the 2011 FINA World Championships.
- 6th in the 5 km and 9th in the 25 km at the 2015 FINA World Championships.
- Gold medal in the 5 km, silver medal in the 5 km team relay, and finished 10th in the 10 km at the 2017 FINA World Championships.
- Gold medal in the 10 km at the 2013 World University Games.
- Silver medal in the 800m freestyle at the 2016 FINA World Championships.
- Domestically at the USA Swimming National Championships:
- she won the 5 km and finished 3rd in the 10 km in 2011.
- she won the 5 km and the 10 km in 2012.
- she finished 6th in the 10 km in 2014.
- she won the 10 km and finished 8th in the 5 km in 2016.
- she won the 10 km in 2017.
- she won the 10 km in 2018, and won the 1500m freestyle and finished 8th in the 800m freestyle in the pool.
Their times in the pool are very comparable. Anderson has a best time of 8:24.13 in the 800m freestyle compared to a 8:25.31 for Twichell. Conversely, Twichell has a best time of 15:54.19 in the 1500m freestyle compared to 16:04.26 for Anderson.
The women’s 10 km National Championship will start at 8:00 am and the men’s race will begin at 10:30 am tomorrow, Friday, April 16th. The 19-woman start list is below. It is remarkable for its age differential between the 29-year-old Anderson and the 31-year-old Twichell and nearly the rest of the field:
- Ashley Twichell (31) 15:54.19 (1500m)
- Erica Sullivan (20) 15:55.25 (1500m)
- Haley Anderson (29) 16:04.26 (1500m)
- Katie Grimes (15) 16:20.35 (1500m)
- Bella Sims (15) 16:21.22 (1500m)
- Paige Kuwata (16) 16:28.18 (1500m)
- Blair Stoneburg (17) 16:42.09 (1500m)
- Juli Arzave (19) 16:45.09 (1500m)
- Hayley Pike (19) 16:47.66 (1500m)
- Maggie Wallace (21) 16:54.17 (1500m)
- Claire Dafoe (16) 16:54.66 (1500m)
- Mary McKenna (15) 16:56.65 (1500m)
- Anna Auld (17) 17:00.81 (1500m)
- Mattea Sokolow (16) 17:04.09 (1500m)
- Cadence Fort (15) 17:19.66 (1500m)
- Abby Licht (18) 9:59.43 (1000 yards)
- Sanna Peterson (17) 16:26.95 (1650 yards)
- Jacqueline Tinneny (20) 16:30.96 (1650 yards)
- Carlie Rose (18) 16:39.69 (1650 yards)
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