Nineteen countries competed in the mixed 5k open water relay event at the 2017 FINA World Championships this morning in Budapest.<\/p>\n
France’s world champions in the individual 5k and 10k events, Marc-Antoine Olivier<\/a><\/strong> and Aurelie Muller<\/a><\/strong>, led their team to a decisive victory in the mixed open water relay event. Oceanne Maryse Jeannie Cassignol<\/strong> led off for her team in 14:28.20 for her 1.25, while Logan Fontaine<\/strong> (eighth place, individual 5k) followed in a split of 13:21.40. Muller was third, splitting a 14:07.20, and Olivier rounded out the relay with a 12:08.70 for first place.<\/p>\n The United States was a close second, finishing in a combined time of 54:18.10. Brendan Casey<\/strong> started the team off with a quick split of 14:00.30 to put them ahead of the French team, but Fontaine\u00a0pulled ahead of Ashley Twitchell<\/strong>\u00a0(10th, individual 10k) on the second leg, with Twitchell splitting 14:06.50. Fellow top-10 finisher Haley Anderson<\/strong> (6th, individual 10k) took care of the third leg with a 14:05.80. Northwestern’s Jordan Wilimovsky<\/a><\/strong>, hungry for victory after his second-place finish in the men’s individual 10k, split a quick 12:05.50, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Frenchman Olivier.<\/p>\n