Time Magazine's August 4th issue picked Mark Warkentin as one of the Top 100 athletes to watch at No. 45. Russia's Vladimir Dyatchin and South Africa's Natalie du Toit were also selected among the Top 100 Athletes. 3 open water swimmers in the top 100 athletes to watch in Beijing.
Not a bad start for a new sport in the Olympics!
Other swimmers included Dara Torres at No. 2, Michael Phelps at No. 3, Australia's Stephanie Rice Stephanie Rice at No. 17, France's Laure Manaudou at No. 27, Italy's Federica Pellegrini at No. 27, Aaron Peirsol at No. 41, Ryan Lochte at No. 57, Australia's Libby Tricket at No. 62, Poland's Otylia Jedrzejczak at No. 65, Natalie Coughlin at No. 66, Katie Hoff at No. 67, Zimbabwe's Kristy Coventry at No. 83, Eric Shanteau at No. 84, Russia's Olympic 10K world champion Vladimir Dyatchin at No. 89, and South Africa's incredible Paralympian and Olympic 10K Marathon Swim medal favorite Natalie du Toit at No. 100.
Time Magazine noted, "Mark Warkentin, 28, will be the first American to swim in the new 10-km open-water event. It's four laps around a 680,000-sq-m freshwater lake." Although it is not a lake, getting coverage in Time Magazine is a real step-up for open water swimming.
Time Magazine also noted, "Natalie du Toit swims without the aid of a prosthetic limb and is unlikely to win a medal." Although Natalie is a Paralympian, there are many sport insiders who believe Natalie has an excellent shot at medaling.
Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association
No comments:
Post a Comment