Open water swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships – Team

Open water swimming team event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships
Venue	Jinshan City Beach
Location	Jinshan, Shanghai
Dates	21 July
Teams	15
Winning time	52:54.9
Medalists
Andrew Gemmell Sean Ryan Ashley Twichell    United States   Melissa Gorman Rhys Mainstone Ky Hurst    Australia   Jan Wolfgarten Thomas Lurz Isabelle Härle    Germany
2013  →

The open water swimming team event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships was held on 21 July 2011 off the coast of Jinshan City Beach in Jinshan, Shanghai, China.

The United States won gold with a time of 57:00.6, while Australia won silver with 57:01.8, and Germany won bronze with 57:44.2.

Event description

It was the first time this event took place at a world championship. ^{[1] [2]}

Each country was represented by three swimmers who swam as a team. Each team swam the same 5-kilometre double-loop, with each member of the team starting at the same time. The time it took the slowest member of the team to complete the course determined the team's time, which determined the finishing positions as in a time trial. A staggered start was implemented, meaning each team was set off individually one minute after the previous team. ^{[3] [1]}

Teams were required to include at least one man and one woman. ^[3]

Race

The race started at 09:00 CST on 21 July. ^{[4] [5]} It took place off the coast of Jinshan City Beach in Jinshan, Shanghai, China. ^[5]

The United States swam in a single file formation, led by Andrew Gemmell and tailed by Ashley Twichell, for the entire race to make use of drafting. ^[3] The Australians spread out a bit more, swimming nearer each other's hips. ^[2]

At the end of the first lap, the United States had the fastest split, followed by Germany and then Australia. ^[3] The US won gold with a time of 57:00.6. ^{[6] [3]} Australia won silver with 57:01.8, and Germany won bronze with 57:44.2. ^{[3] [1]}

After the race, Gemmell said "It was pretty incredible for a 5km race to come down to a single second for two teams that started 10 minutes apart. It just shows you how tight the race was. We did a great job working together as a team." ^[3]

Results ^[7]

Rank	Nation	Swimmers	Time
	United States	Andrew Gemmell Sean Ryan Ashley Twichell	57:00.6
	Australia	Melissa Gorman Rhys Mainstone Ky Hurst	57:01.8
	Germany	Jan Wolfgarten Thomas Lurz Isabelle Härle	57:44.2
4	Italy	Nicola Bolzonello Rachele Bruni Luca Ferretti	58:00.5
5	Russia	Sergey Bolshakov Evgeny Drattsev Ekaterina Seliverstova	58:32.7
6	Greece	Marianna Lymperta Antonios Fokaidis Spyridon Gianniotis	59:22.8
7	France	Ophélie Aspord Damien Cattin-Vidal Sébastien Fraysse	1:00:27.3
8	China	Fang Yanqiao Xu Wenchao Zhang Zibin	1:01:02.2
9	Argentina	Guillermo Bertola Cecilia Biagioli Gabriel Villagoiz	1:01:34.2
10	Canada	Zsófi Balazs Aimeson King Richard Weinberger	1:02:08.7
11	Venezuela	Erwin Maldonado Angel Moreira Yanel Pinto	1:02:32.0
12	Mexico	Zaira Cardenas Hernandez Alejandra Gonzalez Lara Luis Ricardo Escobar Torres	1:03:23.9
13	Hong Kong	Chan Fiona On Yi Natasha Tang Yuen Marcus Yat Ho	1:04:53.4
14	Egypt	Mazen Mohamed Aziz Islam Mohsen Laila El Basiouny	1:06:03.4
–	South Africa	Natalie du Toit Chad Ho Troy Prinsloo	DNS

Further information

• Eggert, Greg (21 July 2011). "USA Trio Capture First Medal in World Championships With Victory in 5km Team Event". World Aquatics. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025. – Further quotes from the US and Australian swimmers

References

1. "Gemmell, Twichell, Ryan Win Gold for US in Worlds 5K Open Water Team Event". Global News. The Canadian Press. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
2. Keith, Braden (21 July 2011). "Shanghai Roundup: China Stays Perfect on the Boards, Gold for US Open Water 5K Team". SwimSwam . Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
3. Eggert, Greg (21 July 2011). "USA Trio Capture First Medal in World Championships with Victory in 5Km Team Event". World Aquatics. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
4. "Start List" (PDF). Omega Timing. 20 July 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
5. "PR 23 - Location and Schedule of Open Water Swimming Events". World Aquatics. 20 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
6. "FINA World Championships, Open Water: United States Wins Team 5K Event". Swimming World . 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
7. "Results by Team" (PDF). Omega Timing. 21 July 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.