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Swimmer Ashley Twichell And Husband Derek Wall Expecting First Baby
by Todd Kortemeier
Ashley Twichell reacts after competing in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials on June 15, 2021 in Omaha, Neb.
After making her long-awaited Olympic debut this past summer in Tokyo, swimmer Ashley Twichell will accomplish another life milestone next year with the birth of her first child.
Twichell announced the news on social media Tuesday that she and husband Derek Wall are expecting.
“Extra thankful this year,” Twichell wrote in the post, “very grateful and very excited for this next chapter.”
Twichell and Wall have been married since 2015. The couple lives in Cary, North Carolina, where Wall is the CEO of Triangle Aquatic Center, where Twichell trains. Twichell originally hails from Fayetteville, New York, but attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Twichell, who turned 32 this past June, made history in Tokyo when she became the oldest U.S. swimmer to make his or her Olympic debut. She’d previously attempted to qualify for the Games in 2008, 2012 and 2016. In between, she became an open water swimming world champion in 2011 in the 5-kilometer team competition and won a solo 5-kilometer gold medal in 2017. She also won a world championship silver medal in the pool in the 800-meter in 2016.
In September 2019, Twichell became one of the first members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team when she broke through with her first Olympic qualification. In Tokyo, Twichell swam in the 10-kilometer. She placed seventh, 7.1 seconds back of first place.