The Italian Passion for Open Water Swimming

FINA Technical Open Water Swim Committee members conducted a site inspection of the 2009 World Swimming Championships this week. Feeding the deep passion for open water swimming in Italy, we are happy to report the races will be broadcast live and an Open Water Village will be constructed on the beach overlooking the courses.


The 5K, 10K and 25K open water courses are located along the public beach area in the popular seaside area of Ostia. Ostia is the only municipio of Rome on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Responding to the interest in open water swimming throughout Europe, Radiotelevisione Italiana or RAI, the biggest television broadcaster in Italy, will have 7 cameras at the venue with 2 providing a live feed from the water back to a large screen on the beach and onto RAI TV in Europe. We will also cover the events live via Twitter.com/swimopenwater.

It will the first time that live television coverage of all six open water races will be broadcast - another indicator of the growing global interest in our sport.

The rectagular courses are expected to be flat without currents and will only become wavy if inclement weather occurs. The courses will have 2.5K loops for each of the 5K, 10K and 25K races. Training facilities for the swimmers include two 50-meter outdoor swimming pools and one 25-meter swimming pool.

Exciting times are expected when our sport's biggest stars are broadcast live and treated so well by their hosts.