The 2025 USA Open Water National and Junior Championships wrapped up Sunday at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, following three days of competitive racing. International challengers from Japan, Canada, and Australia added depth to the field, pushing the USA’s top open water athletes across every event. Fifty-two men contested the 10k race on Friday, with World Championships qualification for American and Canadian athletes on the line.

Australian open water swimmers Kyle Lee and Thomas Raymond delivered a one-two finish, both touching in 1:53:38. Lee, who won the 2025 Swimming Australia Open Water Championships in January, narrowly out-touched his compatriot once again to claim his first-ever open water national title and book his place on the Australian team for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Raymond, finishing second, will compete in the 5km event at Worlds in July.

Lee’s recap of the 10K race: “Tommy and I led in the last half of the race. We tried to push the pace a bit, and we had a really tight finish. I am very happy with the result. Tom is such a strong finisher, so you never really know coming to the finish. I tried to control what I could and got my hand on the touchpad as quickly as I could.”

Raymond added: “When I see Kyle beside me, I'm going to give him some space and respect his swimming abilities. He's obviously a very strong swimmer. It just happened to work out that he was beside me, and yeah, it was kind of working together.”

Image Source: USA's Dylan Gravley takes a feed during the Men's 10km at the World Aquatics Championships - Budapest 2022 (Mike Lewis/World Aquatics)

Dylan Gravley finished two seconds behind the Australians and one second ahead of fourth-place Joey Tepper. Gravley spoke highly of the Australian duo.

Gravley said: “They're great finishers. They've been around and they know a thing or two, about a thing or two. There are always some things to learn from those guys. I felt pretty strong. I was making efforts to conserve as much as I could and ensure that I had more in the tank than my fellow racers. At the end, it was a fast sprint. I think that was the fastest I've ever gone in the finish. I was lucky to be behind Kyle, who is a great finisher. He's known for that. I kind of anticipated the fact that he'd have a strong finish and tried to be next to him on that final straight, and that went according to plan.”

Image Source: Joey Tepper competing for Team USA in the Men's 25km at the World Aquatics Championships - Budapest 2024 (Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics)

USA’s Joey Tepper shared: “I’m really happy I was able to get my hand on the wall when I did, and now I have to do it again and again. I wasn't expecting that, but I am super excited to be going back to Worlds.”

The 5K event took place on Sunday, with 42 competitors tackling three laps of a large rectangular course. Ivan Puskovitch, a 2024 Paris Olympian, won the race in 56:10, just two seconds ahead of Gravley.

Image Source: Ivan Puskovitch competes for Team USA in the Men's Open Water 5km at the World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024 (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Puskovitch reflected on his approach: “The first thing is that you always have to have fun. I mean, if you're not having fun in open water, you're not doing it right—and I had fun from start to finish, thankfully. I knew I would have to come into this 5km, and I was absolutely ready to make a statement, get the job done, and make it onto that Singapore team. I just let it rip from the start since the 5K is more of a sprint compared to the 10km.”

Image Source: A pool and open water swimmer, Eric Brown competes for Team Canada in the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay Heats at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in Smethwick, England (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Among the Canadian swimmers competing in Sarasota’s 10km, Eric Brown earned a spot on Canada’s World Championship team, having previously met the qualifying time in the 1500m freestyle pool event—part of the dual criteria required for Canadian team selection.

Brown said: “I’m so happy and grateful for the opportunity. I know I’ve worked hard. I fell short a little last year, but this year I’ve been working on a lot of things, mentally and physically, and I’m happy to be back. I’ve done a lot of these races so I kind of knew how to swim it and I knew I had to be smart. I couldn’t blow my energy on the first lap or two. I was just conservative and made sure I stayed with that top group because I knew that would be enough.”

The open water swimming competition at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore will take place from 14-19 July. Several open water swimmers may also qualify to compete in pool events, scheduled for 26 July 26–3 August.

Results | Men’s 10K Results – Friday, 6 April 

  1. Kyle Lee (AUS) – 1:53:38

  2. Thomas Raymond (AUS) – 1:53:38

  3. Dylan Gravley (Las Vegas, Nev. / Sun Devil Swimming) – 1:53:40

  4. Joey Tepper (Egg Harbor Township, N.J. / University of Minnesota) – 1:53:41

  5. Ivan Puskovitch (West Chester, Pa. / TSM Aquatics) – 1:53:43

  6. Charlie Clark (Sandusky, Ohio / Ohio State University) – 1:54:04

The full results page for the Men's 10km at the USA Open Water National Championships can be found here. 

Check Out USA Swimming's Roster in Open Water for the World Aquatics Championships - Singapore 2025