Alabama Swimmer Kensey McMahon Posts Top-10 Finish at World Junior Championships
9/7/2018 4:55:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
The Crimson Tide freshman, representing Team USA, took sixth in the FINA World Junior Open Water Championships 10k race in Israel
EILAT, Israel – Alabama freshman Kensey McMahon battled to a sixth-place showing in the 10,000-meter race at the FINA World Junior Open Water Championships being held in Eilat, Israel this week.
McMahon finished less than three seconds behind fellow American Erica Sullivan, with a time of one hour, 57 minutes and 47.4 seconds over the 10k course. McMahon, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., stayed with the lead group throughout the swim, moving up from ninth over the last third of the race.
"We're very proud of Kensey and the way she raced," UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. "Anytime you get to represent the United States, it's a great honor and this was a great experience for as she gets her freshman year underway."
Sullivan and McMahon made the USA the only nation with two finishers in the top nine. The USA was also the only squad with two swimmers under two hours in the race. Spain's Paula Ruiz Bravo took the gold with a time of 1:57:21.9.
This was McMahon's second trip to the World Junior Championships after competing for the United States at the 2016 championships.
McMahon's latest international assignment comes on the heels of a Junior Nationals meet in early August that saw her win both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyles. She finished more than five seconds ahead of the field in the 800 and seven seconds in the 1,500. She was also second in the 400-meter freestyle, less than a half-second out of first and nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the competition.
McMahon isn't the only Crimson Tide swimmer who will compete internationally this fall. Freshmen Rhyan White and Kalia Antoniou will both swim at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October. White will represent Team USA, while Antoniou will swim for Cyprus.Â
After another strong summer of competition, Zane Waddell qualified for the 2018 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships, which will be held Dec. 11-16 in Hangzhou, China. The junior is slated to represent South Africa in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle and the 50-meter backstroke.
The 2018-19 Alabama swimming and diving squad will get the collegiate season underway on Sept. 14 against Delta State at home in the Alabama Aquatic Center.
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