Mark Warkentin of the Santa Barbara Aquatics Club placed fourth at the U.S. Open-Water 10-kilometer championship on Friday in Fort Lauderdale.
The event was held in rough water conditions. There were 109 swimmers (66 men and 43 women) who started, but officials allowed only the top swimmers to complete the race because of the conditions.
Warkentin, a former national champion and a 2008 U.S. Olympian in open-water swimming, finished in 2 hours, five minutes, 43.84 seconds.
The race winner was Alex Meyer of Cambridge, Mass. in 2:05.36.93. Sean Ryan of Chattanooga, Tenn., was second in 2:05.38.46 and Andrew Gemmell of Delaware third in 2:05.41.63.
The women’s winner was Eva Fabian, 17, of Keene, N.H., in 2:18:31. Christine Jennings of Longmont, Colo., finished second in 2:18:33.
The top two finishers qualified for the world championships, which serves as the Olympic trials for the 2012 London Games.
