By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
2026 Open Water National and Junior National Championships
Thursday, April 2 – Saturday, April 4 Sarasota, Florida Nathan Benderson Park Open Water Meet Central Start List Full Results SwimSwam PreviewThe 2026 U.S. Open Water National and Junior National Championships continued from Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota on Friday, with Mariah Denigan and Ivan Puskovitch continuing their dominant weeks by adding 3k knockout titles to the 10k gold medals each claimed on Thursday.
A non-qualifying event with no implications for Pan Pacs or national team selection, the 3k knockout was the only senior event on Friday’s docket. The format sees swimmers set off with a 1500m swim, after which the top 20 advance. Those that survive then swim a 1000m with the slowest again eliminated, before the last ten complete a 500m sprint for victory.
In the women’s event, Saint Petersburg Aquatics’ Brinkleigh Hansen led at the first two checkpoints, but the gap was not big enough to hold off Denigan, who swam over the top of her in the closing meters.
Denigan, who recently changed training bases from Indiana to Ohio State, bided her time with a comfortable ninth-place finish in the 1500m heat and seventh in the 1000m heat before an explosive final 500.
TAC Titans’ Brooke Travis, 26, rounded out the top three.
Denigan, a mainstay on Team USA’s open water international squads since 2022, was 17th in this event at the 2025 World Championships. Hansen, who won the 2025 10K National title, claimed the runner-up spot on Thursday’s 10K.
The men’s race saw Longhorn Aquatics’ Alexander Lyubavskiy lead through the first 1,500 checkpoint, but it was all about Puskovitch on the backhalf.
Puskovitch touched first after the next 1,000, and despite a hard-charging 18-year-old Colin Jacobs on the final sprint, held on for a clear win.
Jacobs, competing unattached, held on for second, while Minnesota’s Joey Tepper took third and Lyubavskiy faded to fourth.
Puskovitch made his Team USA debut at the Doha 2024 Worlds and was seventh in this event at the 2025 World Championships.
Jacobs, a Florida native, currently trains in France with CN d’Antibes under storied coach Fred Vergnoux; notably, that’s where Summer McIntosh trained in the lead up to the 2025 World Championships.
The winners were awarded $1,500, while second place earned $1,000 and third received $500.
Women’s 3K Knockout Swim – Final:
Mariah Denigan (Ohio State University) Brinkleigh Hansen (Saint Petersburg Aquatics) Brooke Travis (TAC Titans) Mila Nikanorov (Ohio State University) Paige Downey (Gold Medal Swim Club) Ashley Twichell (TAC Titans) Becca Mann (TAC Titans) Katie McCarthy (University of Minnesota)Men’s 3K Knockout Swim – Final:
Ivan Puskovitch (TSM Aquatics) Colin Jacobs (Unattached) Joey Tepper (University of Minnesota) Alexander Lyubavskiy (Longhorn Aquatics) William Siegel (Unattached) Gabriel Manteufel (Sandpipers of Nevada) Luke Ellis (Indiana University) Joshua Brown (Sandpipers of Nevada)Note: USA Swimming does not publicize times or splits for the 3K knockout race.
The U.S. Open Water Championships will continue through Saturday with the men’s and women’s 5k events.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Denigan & Puskovitch Win 3K Knockouts for Second Golds of the Week at 2026 Open Water Nationals
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