• Qualifiers for the 2020 Olympics are happening during the FINA World Championships.
• Haley Anderson and Ashley Twichell are the first members of Team USA for Tokyo 2020.
• First time US women have automatically qualified for open water swimming at the Olympics.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Haley Anderson and Ashley Twichell have both qualified for open water swimming in Tokyo 2020.

The FINA World Aquatics Championships are well underway. During these aquatic events, athletes have the opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. No woman from the US has ever automatically qualified for the 10k open water event at the Olympics. OlympicBettingOdds.com thinks that has now changed.

Two Successful Swims

Anderson won Team USA its first women’s 10k worlds medal. She did so by getting second place at the FINA world championships. Anderson finished the 10k with a time of 1:54:48:10. She was only 00:00:90 behind Xin Xin of China. With the silver medal in hand, Anderson is now heading to Tokyo 2020.

Anderson is not the only one heading to Tokyo. The top 10 finishers are all automatically going to the Olympics. That means Ashley Twichell also qualifies. Twichell finished with a time of 1:54:505:50. That puts Twichell 00:03:30 behind Xin Xin. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil and Australia’s Kareena Lee ended with the same time as Twichell. In a three-way tie for fifth, Twichell will also represent Team USA in Tokyo.

This will not be the first time that Anderson will be at the Olympics. She was present in London 2012 and Rio 2016. In London, Anderson won the silver medal for the 10k marathon. She, unfortunately, did not win any medals in Rio. As for Twichell, this will be the first time she qualifies for the Olympic Games.

Due to these qualifiers, Twichell and Anderson are both the first members of Team USA for Tokyo 2020. As the FINA World Championships continue, more US athletes will join them at the Olympics.