Luca Ferretti Protects His Turf In The Surf

Luca Ferretti and Simone Ruffini of Italy finished 1-2 at the 5K LEN European Open Water Swimming Cup in Isola del Giglio in Italy this weekend. Brian Ryckeman of Belgium, Diego Nogueira of Spain and Simone Ercoli of Italy finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.

On the women's side, Spain's Yurema Requena, a Olympic marathon swimmer (shown on left), beat Alice Franco of Italy and Jana Pechanova of the Czech Republic for the top spot.

The top 3 times for the men and women were as follows:

1. Luca Ferretti, 47:23.0
2. Simone Ruffini, 47:31.7
3. Brian Ryckeman, 47:32.1

1. Yurema Requena, 51:02.6
2. Alice Franco, 51:06.0
3. Jana Pechanova, 51:07.3

The LEN Open Water Swimming Cup continues in Porec, Croatia on July 5th, in Hoorn, The Netherlands on August 2nd, in Navia, Spain on August 8th and in Marmaris-Mugla in Turkey on September 5-6.

Open Water Pros Head Back to China

After putting on an incredible show with tremendous performances in Beijing, many of the world's top marathon swimmers returned to China for another stop on the professional FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup tour.

As was expected, the races were tight, exciting and competitive in Shantou, China on September 21st.

On the men's side, Italy's Valerio Cleri, who had just come off of a dominating 25K victory at the 2008 European Open Water Swimming Championships in Croatia, beat Egypt's up-and-coming Mazen Aziz for the gold. The bronze went to Brazil's Allan do Carmo with Russia’s Yuri Kudinov in fourth.

In an unexpected surprise, Kristel Kobrich of Chile, who did not finish the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing, won in a time of 2:10:49.77 over Larisa Ilchenko in 2:10:53.40. The bronze was captured by Angela Maurer with Alice Franco, Britta Kamrau-Corestein and Ana Marcela Cunha taking 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

The medalists were as follows:
1. Valerio Cleri, 2:06:58
2. Mazen Mohamed Aziz, 2:07:03
3. Allan do Carmo, 2:07:05

1. Kristel Kobrich, 2:10:49
2. Larisa Ilchenko, 2:10:53
3. Angela Maurer, 2:10:55

The next race will be held on October 4th in Singapore before the tour culminates in Cancun, Mexico on October 11th.

Photo of Valerio Cleri by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Hong Kong Stop on the Pro Tour

In the post-Olympic season, the elite world of open water swimming continues in Asia. At the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup 2008 in Hong Kong on September 28th, it was another incredibly close and competitive race on both the men's and women's side.

On the men's side, Italy's Valerio Cleri just out-touched Russia's Daniil Serebrennikov and Brazil's Allan do Carmo by one second. Egypt’s rising talent Mazen Aziz was 4th when he outsprinted multi-time world champion Yury Kudinov by by one second.

And, as it is becoming the longest running re-run on the pro circuit, Olympic 10K Marathon Swim champion Larisa Ilchenko of Russia out-ran Chile’s Kristel Kobrich by 3 seconds.

Bronze went to young Ana Marcela Cunha, who was 5th in Beijing, but only after a razor-thin defeat of 4th-place Alice Franco of Italy. German's Angela Maurer and Britta Kamrau-Corestein got fifth and sixth respectively.

The medalists were as follows:
1. Valerio Cleri, 1:46:17
2. Daniil Serebrennikov, 1:46:18
3. Allan do Carmo, 1:46:22

1. Larisa Ilchenko, 1:52:15
2. Kristel Kobrich, 1:52:18
3. Ana Marcela Cunha, 1:52:24

Photo of Valerio Cleri by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Time Trial Format

Flavio Bomio, the Chairman of the LEN Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, summed up the new 5K time trial format at the European Open Water Championships best, "You simply have to swim at full speed from start to finish."

"We had to do something to save the 5K event, because both the 5km and the 10km have always been tactical races which were decided in a sprint finish. There can’t be any tactical moves in 5km time trial," explained Bomio.

Like cycling, the swimmers start in 1-minute intervals from the starting pontoon (see photo above) in the 5K solo race.

In the team trial event, 18 three-person teams also start in 1-minute intervals. The time of the last of the 3 swimmers at the finish determines the team's official time. Each team must have at least one woman and will start together. "Most of the time there will be two men who have the task to push the woman to the fastest possible time," predicts 10K champion Thomas Lurz of Germany. "The third individual time is valid for the ranking. So the team has to work and to swim together," reiterated Bomio.

The initial response from the swimmers seems quite positive. "This is a fantastic start to these European Championships for Italy. I like this new time trial format very much, because you are swimming alone and have to do your own race and to decide the correct route by yourself," said 5K bronze medalist Alice Franco of Italy.

Upper photo shows start of women's 5K time trial, taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo shows Flavio Bomio of the LEN Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Trademark Finish Seals Another Gold for Ilchenko

Just like the World Championships in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the Beijing Olympics, Larisa Ilchenko of Russia came barreling down the finish to win another major international championship in an exciting finish.

19-year-old Ilchenko won the 10K at the European Open Water Championships in 2:00:30.9 in Croatia, just barely outgunning two Italians: Martina Grimaldi in 2:00:31.4 and Alice Franco in 2:00:32.2.

"After eight World titles and my Olympic gold medal in Beijing, I saw it as an obligation to win my first ever European title today," said Ilchenko who complained about the aggressive tactics of her competitors. "However, it was a horrible race because I was hit from right and left. I rarely took as many hits to my body as today. At the end I possibly benefitted from my experience."

Grimaldi similarly saw a silver lining, "For 9K, I was swimming in the middle of the leading pack. Towards the end I moved to the front, and after the last buoy I forced myself in between Ilchenko and Franco for the final sprint. I sprinted well to win the silver. I’m only half a second behind Ilchenko, so maybe next time I’ll beat her."

Alice Franco, who won the bronze in the 5K yesterday, won another bronze medal after leading most of the race. "Of course it is better to follow other swimmers, but today I desperately wanted a second medal and that’s why I led the field for most of the time. Two medals in two races - that’s simply fantastic."

Men's 5K time trial race is later today.

Upper photo shows Larisa Ilchenko after the 10K. Photo by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo shows Ilchenko (left), Grimaldi (middle) and Franco (right) leading the pack and battling towards the finish. Photo taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

European 5K Champion in New Format

Rachele Bruni of Italy handily won the women's 5K in 58:50.7 in the new racing fomat at the European Open Water Championships over Germany's Britta Kamrau-Corestein (59:16.1) and Italy's Alice Franco (59:30.0).

The 17-year-old Bruni is a 2-time European junior bronze medallist (in 2007 and 2008). "I was confident to finish among the top six. We have especially trained for this event. I especially prepared for this time trial event. We trained three times a week in the sea, each swimmer on his own. I was confident that I would finish among the top six."

Silver medalist Britta Kamrau-Corestein was also pleased with the new system where swimmers start one minute apart. "It was a lot of fun. The time trial is still a bit unusual, but it was a lot of fun and finished with a great success for me at my first ever participation in such a racing system. I was positively excited before the race, and the waiting for the others to finish also was nerve-racking. I could hardly see anything swimming against the sun on the first 2.5K to the turning buoy. But by then I had already caught up with Nadine Pastor who then supported me on the last leg to the finish."

The 35-year-old Edith van Dijk finished fourth in 1:00:7.3 and announced her retirement from the elite racing. "These Championships are definitely my last. I’ll retire from high-performance sport after Dubrovnik."

Because the swimmers started separately, aggressive pack swimming was not an issue. "This is a fantastic start to these European Championships for Italy. I like this new time trial format very much, because you are swimming alone and have to do your own race and to decide the correct route by yourself," said bronze medalist Franco.

Upper photo of Alice Franco (left) and Rachele Bruni (right) taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo of Jana Pechanova of the Czech Republic as she dives into the Old Harbor of Dubrovnik taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.