Cross-Over Athletes
Of the 50 athletes who will be competing in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, there will be several who will pull double-duty. That is, the following swimmers not only qualified for the Olympic 10K finals, but are also entered in pool events.
Cassandra Patten (Great Britain - shown above left): 800 freestyle
Keri-Anne Payne (Great Britain - shown above right): 400 individual medley
Marianna Lymperta (Greece): 200 freestyle
David Davies (Great Britain): 1500 freestyle
Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria): 1500 freestyle
Gianniotis Spyridon (Greece): 400 and 1500 freestyles (a finalist at the 2004 Olympics).
Thomas Lurz of Germany was asked by the German Swimming Federation to focus on the Olympic 10K, although he is also capable of representing Germany very well in the 1500.
Davies is typical in his outlook as he bridges the gap between world-class pool and open water swimming. “It’s nice to do both (the 1500 and 10K). It’s a nice mixture. I am fit enough to do both and I’ll train for both. I’ll do a bit more (open water) racing and gain (more) experience in the 10K before Beijing. A year ago, I wasn’t even thinking about doing the 10K. But this swim [in Seville at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships where he qualified for the Olympic 10K] was very encouraging.”
Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association
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