Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Brown takes seventh place at FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships

Along with more than 150 athletes from more than 50 countries, Notre Dame sophomore Josh Brown participated in the FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships from Sept. 16-18, 2022 in Seychelles, a small chain of islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. The competition was held on Mahé, the largest island in Seychelles, in Beau Vallon Bay.

Brown was one of 12 athletes competing for the United States at the event and notched a seventh place finish in the Men’s 10 kilometer race with a time of 1:59:41.50. Hungarian David Betlehem earned the gold medal in the event, while Italians Pasquale Giordano and Giuseppe Ilario took silver and bronze, respectively. 

The distance freestyler also competed in the Mixed 4×1500 meter relay, and the American team just missed the podium, earning a fourth place finish with a time of 1:13:47.10. Mariah Denigan led off the relay, Brown followed, and Summer Smith and Alex Ayers rounded out the team. Denigan is a sophomore at Indiana University, Smith is in the same class at the University of Tennessee, and North Carolina native Ayers is just 17 years old. Splits for the relay were not available. 

Brown, a native of Winter Park, Fla., was a standout for the Irish as a freshman last season. He swam three events at the 2022 ACC Championships, posting a No. 6 finish in the 1650 freestyle with a personal best time of 15:04.02, which ranked third in Irish swimming history. Brown also owns the No. 4 spot in program history in the 1000 freestyle (9:06.28).