photo by usaswimming.org
Sean Ryan, a 2010 graduate of McCallie, qualified for an Olympic swimming competition early Monday morning. His fourth-place finish in the 10-kilometer open-water race July 27 at the FINA World Championships earned him a spot on the United States Olympic Team for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The race took place in the Kazanka River in Kazan, Russia, and began at 5 a.m. ET. Ryan swam past the line in 1:50.03.3., less than three seconds behind third-place finisher Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece.
U.S.
swimmer Jordan Wilimovsky won the gold medal in the race and is the World Champion, posting a first-place time of 1:49.48.2. Wilimovsky and Ryan both qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team by virtue of their top-10 finish, the only way two swimmers from the same nation can qualify for the event.
Ryan qualified for the World Championships in April with a second-place finish at the 10k Olympic Trials.
The Championships in Russia were the second Olympic Trials for Ryan who finished 25th four years ago in China, when he was 19 years old. A five-time All-American swimmer at the University of Michigan, Ryan won three Big Ten Conference Championships while swimming for the Wolverines. He was a key member of Michigan’s National Championship team in 2013.
A native of Hixson, Tenn., and a former day student and State Champion at McCallie, Ryan has been swimming internationally since his sophomore year of high school and has been a member of the USA Swimming National Team since 2008.
Results, FINA World Championships
10k Open Water Swimming
1. Jordan Wilimovsky (USA) – 1:49:48.2
2. Ferry Weertman (NED) – 1:50:00.3
3. Spyridon Gianniotis (GRE) – 1:50:00.8
4. Sean Ryan (USA) – 1:50.03.3