After fighting an appeal over the controversial men’s 10K open water race that took place on Wednesday, July 22nd, USA’s Fran Crippen was declared the Bronze medalist at the 13th FINA World Championship in Rome, Italy. Crippen entered Wednesday’s race wearing the new TYR Tracer A7 after finishing 7th the day before in the men’s open water 5K race. Making some tactical errors during that race, he entered the 10K with a goal of swimming wiser, and just as intensely. The race conditions at the open waters of Ostia were hot, and for the benefit of the swimmers, breezeless. Staying amongst the top swimmers, Crippen entered into the chute buoy with 50m to go fighting for a medal. Slamming his head against the buoy, he managed to get in third behind the winning German swimmer, and another US competitor. “I Put my head down and sprinted to the finish,” said Crippen. “We were able to go 2-3 which is awesome. I used different tactics than the 5K - a little smarter. The last lap I was between 4th and 8th. I was really happy with my finishing speed.” The finish was protested by Italy due to Crippen crossing the area that lead to the finish apparatus to ultimately touch ahead of the Italian swimmer. FINA’s Bureau, represented by Jury d’Appel made the final decision after the USA successfully appealed and fought for justice on Thursday, July 23rd. Crippen and the US rejoiced after the jury decided in their favor. “We won!” Crippen exclaimed. “I am a bronze medalist. It was not quite the gold we were looking for but it was definitely awesome to get the bronze. It was a great swim and I am super happy and relieved more than anything that FINA did the right thing.” With the end of the open water competition, swimming enthusiasts will now turn their attention to the events beginning at the Foro Italico complex, scheduled to begin July 26th. Continue to follow TYR athletes as they look to add to the medal count for their countries at TYR.com.