FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup Rankings

After 7 closely fought FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup events conducted this year in Santos (Brazil), Setubal (Portugal), Lac St-Jean (Canada), Varna (Bulgaria), Lake Annecy (France), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Manhattan (USA), the top 30 professional marathon female swimmers to date are listed below. 5 more races in Chun An, Shantou and Hong Kong (China), and Dubai and Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) will close out the 2009 season.

1. Poliana Okimoto (Brazil) - 116 points
2. Ana Marcela de Jesus S. Cunha (Brazil) - 100
3. Angela Maurer (Germany) - 88
4. Nadine Pastor (Germany) - 52
5. Karla Sitic (Croatia) - 46
6. Christine Jennings (USA) - 26
6. Mathilde Sorensen (Denmark) - 26
8. Larisa Ilchenko (Russia) - 20
8. Swann Oberson (Switzerland) - 20
10. Nicole Vernon (USA) - 18
10. Stefanie Biller (Germany) - 18
10. Eva Fabian (USA) - 18
13. Heather Maitland (Canada) - 16
13. Kristel Kobrich (Chile) - 16
15. Martina Grimaldi (Italy) - 14
15. Stephanie Hassell (Canada) - 14
15. Natalia Pankina (Russia) - 14
15. Anna Guseva (Russia) - 14
19. Giorgia Consiglio (Italy) - 12
19. Caitlin Nolan (Canada) - 12
19. Maaike Waaijer (Netherlands) - 12
22. Heidi George (USA) - 11
23. Alice Franco (Italy) - 10
23. Nadine Reichert (Germany) - 10
23. Daniela Inacio (Portugal) - 10
26. Linsey Heister (Netherlands) - 8
26. Alejandra Gonzalez (Mexico) - 8
29. Marianna Lymperta (Greece) - 6
29. Elizaveta Gorshkova (Russia) - 6

Feeding Open Water Swimmers In New York City

Professional open water swimmers from all over the world are now on their way to New York after the successful Copenhagen pro swim.

Some swimmers will have their home coaches fed them from the feeding stations. Others will bring along their family members or friends to provide hydration in the 76˚F (24˚C) waters of New York Harbor.

NYC Pro Swim volunteers are available to the swimmers who will need a local feeder to help them during the race. For open water enthusiasts in the New York City area, it is a unique opportunity to get involved first-hand and up close in a professional marathon swim.

The entrants include Fesenko Sergiy and Inga Kozur of Azerbaidjan, Ana Marcela Cunha, Allan Do Carmo and Poliana Okimoto of Brazil, Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria, Karla Sitic of Croatia, Mathilde Riis Sørensen of Denmark, Andres Olvik of Estonia, Richard Charlesworth, David Davies, Daniel Fogg, Cassandra Patten and Keri-Anne Payne, Thomas Lurz and Angela Maurer of Germany, Odette Saldivar, Ivan Lopez, Rodrigo Elorza, Alejandra Gonzalez, Daniel Delgadillo and Luis Escobar of Mexico, Kane Radford of New Zealand, Evgeny Drattsev and Vladmir Dyatchin of Russia, Chad Ho of South Africa, Swann Oberson of Switzerland, Lisa Broadfield, Emily Brunemann, Fran Crippen, Charles Cullom, Eva Fabian, Arthur Frayler, Andrew Gemmell, Heidi George, Emily Hanson, Christine Jennings, Alex Meyer and Barton Well of the USA and Roberto Penaillilo of Chile.

Mathilde Riis Sørensen (shown on left) and Andres Olvik will also compete in Friday's Governors Island 2-mile Race which will be a good experience for Sunday's NYC Pro Swim.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Swimming In Nearly His Backyard

Professional marathon swimmers from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the USA will compete in the NYC Pro Swim this weekend on September 6th.

While the world's best swimmers are flying into New York from all over the world for the race, 2009 World Swimming Championship bronze medalist Fran Crippen (shown on left) is close enough to drive from home. He will renew his rivalry with fellow medalists Thomas Lurz of Germany (middle) and fellow American Andrew Gemmell (right) in what will undoubtedly be another extremely close race.

With currents expected to run at least 2 knots, both with and against, the athletes at different points along the course, we forecast a lot of lead changes throughout the race, especially when the swimmers are swimming near the seawall where fans will be able to cheer their favorite swimmers on from only meters away.

On race day this coming Sunday, it will be Brazilian Day in New York City, so perhaps the three Brazilian representatives (Poliana Okimoto, Ana Marcela Cunha and Allan Do Carmo) will have some additional countrymen to cheer them on?

Thomas Lurz Circles Another Victory In Copenhagen

Thomas Lurz continued his winning streak in the Copenhagen 10K pro swim with a closely fought battle against Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria and Sergai Bolshakov of Russia; the respective times were 1:57:40 vs. 1:57.43 vs. 1:57.44. Poliana Okimoto beat Brazilian teammate Ana Marcela Cunha in a time of 2:05.17 to 2:05.29 with Angela Maurer of Germany third in 2:05.30. The swimmers plan to continue their battles next week in New York City.

Salford Online posted a number of great interviews with some of the world's best open water swimmers:

Thomas Lurz said, "I won the race, and I am very happy with the result. 10K race is always very hard, and the water really cold. So I am very glad to win the race, and was perfect for me. My special tactic was until 8K to be the pack and try to save power and draft behind the people. And after the last lap, I wanted to leave the group and then I did this, and it worked very good for me."

"[Swimming] around [Copenhagen] like this is the perfect idea. I think it the future of open water swimming, because all spectators can look the whole race, and walk with it and it is a nice idea. And I think in the future there should be more races like this."

"I was really focused on the race, so during the race I couldn't see the nice houses and buildings, but the day before in training. I watched the city and of course it really nice and perhaps I will come and visit for holiday."

English Channel record holder Petar Stoychev said, "I just wanted to be in the back of the group and try to save some energy for the end. I got a little bit hard time with the jellyfishes. I was feeling comfortable all the time in race, and in the end I was sure that I would be in the top 3. So I did it, and I am really happy with the result."

"First of all I got a chance to swim in the downtown of the city, and in very clean water, which was a really surprise for me. Secondly you have people all around, and it is very easy for the spectators to observe the race and to see swimmers during the 10K race."

World champion Angela Maurer said, "I was just a little bit afraid of the cold water. I had no special tactic, just to swim and see how I felt for the last 400 meters, but today I was little bit tired in the end, so I lost my second position and got the third position. But it was okay for me."

Close Races By Pros Heading To Rome

Thomas Lurz's close victory in the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup race in Setubal, Portugal (Setubal Bay International Swim Marathon) was mirrored by Brazil's Poliana Okimoto (shown on left after a 2008 FINA race in Dubai).


Poliana, seventh in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, outsprinted her fellow Olympians after 9K of surges and fades. Poliana won in 1:42:32 over Germany's Angela Maurer (1:42:33), Germany's Stefanie Biller (1:42:37) and Brazil's Ana Marcela Cunha (1:42:52).

On the men's side, it also came down to the wire. Thomas pulled out an exciting victory in 1 hour 34 minutes 16 seconds in front of Germany's Christian Reichert in 1:34:18.00, Brazil's Allan Carmo in 1:34:18.15, Greece's Spyridon Gianniotis in 1:34:29 and Bulgaria's Petar Stoychev in 1:35:33.

Rome is going to be a real treat to watch - follow the races on Twitter (http://twitter.com/swimopenwater ).

Setubal Bay race photos by aqualoja can be seen here. The always innovative aqualoja also provides race videos here.

Swimming Fast In Rio For Rome

Three South American Olympic 10K marathon swimmers demonstrated they are getting ready for the 2009 World Swimming Championships in Rome by swimming well at the Maria Lenk Trophy meet held in Rio de Janeiro.

Kristel Köbrich from Chile (a DNF in Beijing) broke the South American 1500-meter freestyle record last week in a 16:11.40. Poliana Okimoto (7th in Beijing) was second in 16:35.62 and Ana Marcela Cunha (5th in Beijing) took third in 16:56.76.

Photo of Kristel in Beijing by Reuters.

Wet'n Wild in São Paulo

Wet'n Wild will host the Maratona Aquatica Championships in the lake in the São Paulo water park in Brazil.

Nearly two thousand athletes, ages 6-80, including Olympic 10K Marathon Swim fifth place finisher and the recent FINA World Cup victor Ana Marcela Cunha (shown on left), will participate in this event, one of the largest open water swimming events (1K, 2K and 4K) in Latin America.

Copyright © 2009 by Open Water Source

Olympic Champion Site

Larisa Ilchenko came out with a bilingual (Russian + English) website, joining Maarten van der Weijden, Britta Kamrau, Damian Blaum, Angela Maurer, Thomas Lurz, Ana Marcela Cunha, Keri-Anne Payne and others on the professional marathon swimming circuit with websites. Enjoy.

Italian Statement and Brazilian Battle in Santos

Italy men accomplished an unusual sweep at the first stop on the 2009 FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit.

Simone Ercoli (shown on left) won in 2:05:44.0 over countrymen Luca Ferretti (2:05:49.0) and Valerio Cleri (2:05:54.0) in the Santos 10K World Cup. With the 2009 World Swimming Championships in Rome, the tough Italian men sent out a statement that they will be a force to reckon with on their home surf.

Olympic 10K Marathon swimmers Allan do Carmo of Brazil and Luis Escobar of Mexico were only seconds behind in a typically close finish.

On the hometown front, the Brazilian women went 1-2 on the Brazilian leg of World Cup circuit. Ana Marcela Cunha (shown on left) withstood the pressure of swimming in front of thousands of patriotic fans and got the upper hand in her ongoing battle over Brazilian rival and fellow São Paulo resident Poliana Okimoto.


Ana Marcela won won this week in 2:09:49.0 over Poliano's 2:09:58.0. Nadine Pastor of Germany (shown below) was a close third in 2:10:00 over a stellar field. Olympian Martina Grimaldi of Italy was fourth just one second after Nadine with other Olympians behind (Angela Maurer of Germany in sixth, Kristel Kobrich of Chile in seventh and Cassandra Patten of England in seventeenth.

Similar to the top British pair of open water swimmers (Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten) and another top German pair of swimmers (Angela Maurer and Britta Kamrau), it seems the Brazilian pair help push each other to success. "It is difficult to help one another [in a race]," said Poliana. "I find that no country's teammates offer that help to others."

But it seems that the rivalry between Poliana and Ana Marcela is especially intense as both were apparently injured due to contact during the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing. "It was an absence of our vision, our wanting to stay in the front of the another one, but we finished by losing the [lead pack]," admitted Ana Marcela. "We are friends, but when we enter in the water, each swimmer is by herself. It is obvious that each of us wants [to win]. Each competition is a challenge."

The Maratona Aquática Internacional de Santos (International Aquatic Marathon of Saints) was also held in conjunction with the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup when hundreds of amateur open water swimmers joined in the 1K, 2K and 4K races. Santos definitely kick-started what looks to be a great 2009 World Cup season.

Final Men's Results:
1 Simone Ercoli, Italy: 2:05:44:16
2 Luca Ferretti, Italy: 2:05:49:51
3 Valerio Cleri, Italy: 2:05:54:38
4 Allan Do Carmo, Brazil: 2:05:57:47
5 Luis Escobar, Mexico 2:05:59:53
6 Nicola Bolzonello, Italy 2:06:01:17
7 Daniel Delgadillo, Mexico 2:06:02:31
8 Ivan Lopez, Mexico: 2:06:05:50
9 Sebastien Fraysse, France: 2:06:09:25
10 Loic Branda, France: 2:06:30:36
11 Bertrand Venturi, France: 2:06:44:45
12 Simone Rufino, Italy: 2:06:48:19
13 Julien Saivage, France: 2:06:53:22
14 Arseniy Lavrentyev, Portugal: 2:06:57:45
15 Marcelo Romanelli Soares, Brazil: 2:06:59:43
16 Daniel Fogg, Great Britain: 2:07:02:14
17 Carlos Eduardo Pavao, Brazil: 2:07:05:26
18 Robin Den Boer, Netherlands: 2:07:37:13
19 Rodrigo Elorza, Mexico: 2:07:59:06
20 Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria: 2:08:05:32
21 Rok Kerin, Slovania: 2:08:09:31
22 Victor Simoes, Brazil: 2:08:13:48
23 Fabio Carlos Lima, Brazil: 2:08:17:37
24 Josip Soldo, Croatia: 2:13:29:13
25 Matheus Evangelista, Brazil: 2:13:31:44
26 Tomislav Soldo, Croatia: 2:18:15:32
27 David Davies, Great Britain: 2:19:02:26
28 Andrew Azevedo, Brazil: 2:19:27:36
29 Linecker Denardi, Brazil: 2:19:30:44
30 Samir Barel, Brazil: 2:19:41:07

Final Women's Results:
1 Ana Marcela Cunha, Brazil: 2:09:49:10
2 Poliana Okimoto, Brazil: 2:09:58:23
3 Nadine Pastor, Germany: 2:10:00:12
4 Martina Grimaldi, Italy: 2:10:01:54
5 Giorgia Consiglio, Italy: 2:10:03:10
6 Alice Franco, Italy: 2:10:03:21
7 Angela Maurer, Germany: 2:10:05:35
8 Kristel Kobrich, Chile: 2:10:06:23
9 Daniela Inacio, Portugal: 2:10:16:11
10 Andreana Cimmarusti, Italy: 2:14:34:19
11 Rachele Bruni, Italy: 2:14:55:47
12 Maaike Waaijer, Netherlands: 2:15:18:37
13 Karla Sitic, Croatia: 2:15:22:58
14 Oddette Saldivar, Mexico: 2:15:26:09
15 Pamela Engel, Brazil: 2:18:10:44
16 Monick Avelino Perez, Brazil: 2:20:54:11
17 Cassandra Patten, Great Britain: 2:21:47:50
18 Lily Anzueto, Mexico: 2:28:15:46

Brazilian Start to the FINA World Cup Circuit

The 2009 FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit starts this weekend in Santos, Brazil. Dozens of international marathon swimming stars, including the 2008 FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup world champions Valerio Cleri of Italy and Angela Maurer of Germany, will compete. Angela, who finished a close fourth in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, is continuing her remarkable comeback after giving birth to her first child.

The first World Cup of the season will also feature São Paulo's favorite Ana Marcela Cunha (shown above), the 16-year-old who finished fifth in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, and her Brazilian teammate Poliana Okimoto who finished seventh at the Olympics (shown below racing against America's Chloe Sutton).

Nearly 80 athletes from 16 countries, including several Olympians, are expected to compete in the first race of the FINA World Cup season for money and points.

Additionally, over 1,000 swimmers are expected in the Maratona Aquática Internacional de Santos (International Aquatic Marathon of Saints) in the amateur races that are part of the festive World Cup event. There will be amateur 1K, 2K and 4K races in addition to the 10K. The 2K starts at 8:30 am, the 4K at 8:50 am, the women's pro 10K starts at 10:10 am, the men's pro 10K starts at 10:15 am and the 1K starts at 10:20 am.

Busy times on a Brazilian beach.

Swimming Smarter Against The Best

The dominance of Larisa Ilchenko has stymied her competitors since she first won the 5K world championships in 2004. Like the anchor leg finish of Jason Lezak, everyone knows Ilchenko's blazing finish will come...they just can't seem to do anything about it. Fast pace, slow pace, ocean, lake, Ilchenko comes through every time.

At the Singapore leg of the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup, former world champion Shelley Taylor-Smith asked Ilchenko's competitors how they plan to dethrone Ilchenko.

Fourth-place Olympic 10K finisher Angela Maurer told Taylor-Smith, "The difference between Larisa and the rest [of us] is not that she is faster, but that she swims smarter than the rest of the competitors."

Brazilian open water swimming coach Igor de Souza said of Ana Marcela Cunha, the youngest swimmer in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, "Anna is young. Not just her age, but in 10K racing, she is young compared to Larisa and many of the experienced marathon swimmers like Angela Maurer, Britta Kamrau and others. So we will now go back and prepare Ana Marcela to focus on becoming a 'smart racer'. She must learn to race. Speed is important, yes. But thinking like a 10K marathon swimmer is what wins. I believe that is what it is going to take to beat Larisa."

Photo by Satiro Sodré/CBDA shows Ana Marcela Cunha at the Olympic 10K.

FINA 10K Pro Series Champions

The FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup pro circuit announced its overall winners for its 2008 season.

The "Dara Torres" of the open water world, Angela Maurer won the circuit having participated and medaled in almost every World Cup race this season. Larisa Ilchenko was second after a shortened season where she focused on the Beijing Olympic 10K. Third was young Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil.

Valerio Cleri was dominant among the men followed by long-time pro Yuri Kudinov of Russia and up-and-coming Mazen Aziz of Egypt. The final standings and allocated prize money are as follows:

MEN
1. Valerio Cleri (ITA) – US$15,000
2. Yuri Kudinov (RUS) – US$10,000
3. Mazen Aziz (EGY) – US$5,000

WOMEN
1. Angela Maurer (GER) – US$15,000
2. Larisa Ilchenko (RUS) – US$10,000
3. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) – US$5,000

First Couple of Open Water Swimming

Swimming World Magazine ran an interesting article based on an interview with Larisa Ilchenko conducted by Shelley Taylor-Smith.

The first couple of the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup performed very well in the Singapore leg on October 4th.

Larisa Ilchenko won the women's race while her training partner and boyfriend Daniil Serebrennikov tied with Valerio Cleri of Italy in the men's race with an exact time of 2:09.20.25.

Cleri, who got fourth in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, has five FINA World Cup victories and one bronze in the 2008 pro 10K circuit. He looks to lock up the 2008 overall title after he participates in the season-ending Cancun race. The overall World Cup circuit winners, both male and female, receive an additional US$15,000.

In addition to her Olympic 10K Marathon Swim gold medal, Ilchenko has three golds and a silver during the 2008 circuit. She has been training with her boyfriend of three years, Serebrennikov, who has one gold and two silvers during the 2008 season.

In a typically exciting finish, Serebrennikov and Cleri finished a stroke ahead of Egypt's Mazen Mohamed Aziz. Aziz took bronze only one second behind in 2:09.21.08. Less than a second behind Aziz was fourth place Yury Kudinov of Russia with a time of 2:09.21.99.

Aziz has earned a medal of every color during the 2008 World Cup season, making up for his just missing qualification in the Beijing Olympic 10K.

As was expected, Ilchenko outsprinted Brazil's Ana Marcela Cunha and Angela Maurer who took the silver and bronze medals respectively. In addition to her close fourth-place finish at the Olympics, Maurer has one gold, one silver and three bronze medals during the 2008 FINA World Cup season and is leading the current rankings going into the final race in Cancun.

The results are as follows:

MEN
1. Daniil Serebrennikov in 2:09.20.251.
1. Valerio Cleri in 2:09.20.25
3. Mazen Mohamed Aziz in 2:09.21.08

WOMEN
1. Larisa Ilchenko in 2:16.22.00
2. Ana Marcela Cunha in 2:16.25.09
3. Angela Maurer in 2:16.27.32

Upper photo shows Ilchenko (middle) accepting her winner's check from FINA representative Shelley Taylor-Smith (to her right) at the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup in Hong Kong on September 28th. Second-place Kristel Kobrich of Chile and third-place Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil (far left) are also shown in the photo by Shelley Taylor-Smith.

Lower photo by Shelley Taylor-Smith shows Ilchenko at a pre-race clinic in Singapore for the local students.

Big Checks in Hong Kong

Olympic 10K gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko (middle) is shown accepting her winner's check from FINA representative Shelley Taylor-Smith (to her right) at the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup in Hong Kong on September 28th. Second-place Kristel Kobrich of Chile and third-place Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil (far left) are also shown.

The Americas at the Olympics

The 2007 Pan American Games were held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The results are shown below. The Pan Am 10K race was held 13 months before the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. From these top North and South American swimmers, who performed the best in Beijing?

On the men's side, Allan do Carmo of Brazil finished 14th, 25 seconds behind the gold medalist. Luis Escobar of Mexico (18th) and Damian Blaum of Argentina (21st) also qualified for the Olympics.

Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil finished 5th, 9.1 seconds behind the gold medalist. Poliana Okimoto, also of Brazil, finished 7th, 9.7 seconds behind the winner. Andreina Pinto of Venezuela finished 9th, 12.3 seconds behind the winner. Imelda Martinez of Mexico (20th) and Chloe Sutton of the USA (22nd) also swam in the Olympic 10K.




Men
1. Fran Crippen (USA) in 2:02:24.1
2. Chip Peterson (USA) in 2:02:29.2
3. Allan do Carmo (BRA) in 2:03:53.7
4. Ricardo Monastero (VEN) in 2:04:32.1
5. Philippe Dubreul (CAN) in 2:05:52.0
6. Manuel Chu (MEX) in 2:06:19.6
7. Ricardo Salas (VEN) in 2:06:22.9
8. Jarred Ballem (CAN) in 2:07:05.8
9. Marcello Soares (BRA) in 2:07:38.4
10. Damian Blaum (ARG) in 2:08:03.1
11. Luis Escobar (MEX) in 2:08:08.0
12. Kurt Niehaus (CRC) in 2:09:52.5
13. Roberto Peñailillo (CHI) in 2:10:10.6
14. Raul Macedo (ARG) in 2:20:06.5

Women
1. Chloe Sutton (USA) in 2:13:47.6
2. Poliana Okimoto (BRA) in 2:13:48.4
3. Tanya Hunks (CAN) in 2:13:50.5
4. Kalyn Keller (USA) in 2:14:20.9
5. Andreina Pinto (VEN) in 2:14:24.4
6. Karley Stutzel (CAN) in 2:14:37.3
7. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) in 2:17:12.2
8. Alejandra Galan Lopez (MEX) in 2:18:26.0
9. Mitchell Santiago (VEN) in 2:21:17.1
10. Imelda Martinez (MEX) in 2:23:52.3
11. Nataly Caldas Calle (ECU) in 2:29:24.2
12. Marianela Mendoza (ARG) in 2:35:29.8
13. Michel Tixe Cobos (ECU) in 2:47:34.2
14. Maria Jose Mailliard (CHI) in 2:47:34.6
15. Mariam Marcucci (PAN) in 2:59:54.9
16. Cindy Toscano (GUA) in 3:00:17.2
DNF Pilar Geijo (ARG)

Upper photo shows Allan do Carmo with head up in dark goggles in the middle of the open water swimming qualification race in Beijing. AP Photo by Robert F. Bukaty.

Lower photo shows Chloe Sutton winning the women's race at the 2007 Pan Am Games.

FINA World Cup Pro Circuit Medalists

Due to the inaugural Olympic 10K Marathon Swim this year, the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup series was shorter than usual. However, there were still races to be swum and prize money to be fought over.

In January, the circuit started out in Santos, Brazil, and then traversed the world to Dubai in March, Setubal, Portugal in June and Quebec, Canada in July. After the Beijing Olympic break, then circuit then started back up again in Shantou, China and just completed a race in Hong Kong.

With two more races on the 2008 circuit - in Singapore and Cancun, Mexico - both scheduled for October, here are the medal winners to date:

Santos, Brazil
Men
1. Valerio Cleri of Italy
2. Evgeny Drattsev of Russia
3. Allan do Carmo of Brazil
Women
1. Larisa Ilchenko of Russia
2. Kirsten Groome of USA
3. Angela Maurer of Germany

Dubai
Men
1. Thomas Lurz of Germany
2. Daniil Serebrennikov of Russia
3. Valerio Cleri of Italy
Women
1. Poliana Okimoto of Brazil
2. Aurélie Muler of France
3. Martina Grimaldi of Italy

Setubal, Portugal
Men
1. Valerio Cleri of Italy
2. Thomas Lurz of Germany
3. Yuri Kudinov of Russia
Women
1. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil
2. Angela Maurer of Germany
3. Andreina Pinto of Venezuela

Quebec, Canada
Men
1. Mazen Mohamed Aziz of Egypt
2. Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria
3. Fran Crippen of USA
Women
1. Angela Maurer of Germany
2. Britta Kamrau-Corestein of Germany
3. Lucy Redgrove of Australia

Shantou, China
Men
1. Valerio Cleri of Italy
2. Mazen Mohamed Aziz of Egypt
3. Allan do Carmo of Brazil
Women
1. Kristel Kobrich of Chile
2. Larisa Ilchenko of Russia
3. Angela Maurer of Germany

Hong Kong
Men
1. Valerio Cleri of Italy
2. Daniil Serebrennikov of Russia
3. Allan do Carmo of Brazil
Women
1. Larisa Ilchenko of Russia
2. Kristel Kobrich of Chile
3. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil

The proposed 2009 expanded schedule is as follows:

January 25: Santos, Brazil (10K World Cup)
February 1: Santa Fe, Argentina (57K Grand Prix)
February 7: Rosario, Argentina (15K Grand Prix)
February 14: Viedma, Argentina (15K Grand Prix)
March 28: Orienta Bay, Wellington, New Zealand (10K World Cup)
April 18: Sumidero Canyon, Mexico (15K Grand Prix)
April 25: Cancun, Mexico (10K World Cup)
June 20: Capri-Napoli, Italy (36K Grand Prix)
June 27: Setubal, Portugal (10K World Cup)
July (TBD): Ohrid Lake, Macedonia (30K Grand Prix)
July 12: Sabac, Serbia (19K Grand Prix)
July 12: Long Beach,California (10K World Cup)
July 23: Lac St-Jean, Canada (10K World Cup)
July 25: Lac St-Jean, Canada (32K Grand Prix)
August 1: Lac Magog, Canada (34K Grand Prix)
August 8: Varna, Bulgaria (10K World Cup)
August 12: Lake Annecy, France (10K World Cup)
August 15: London, Great Britain (10K World Cup)
August 29: Copenhagen, Denmark (10K World Cup)
September 7: Manhatten, New York (10K World Cup)
September 26: Shantou, China (10K World Cup)
October 4: Hong Kong (10K World Cup)
October 11: Singapore (10K World Cup)
October 17: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (10K World Cup)
October 21: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (10K World Cup)
October 25: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (15K Grand Prix)

Upper photo of Thomas Lurz at the 2008 European Open Water Swimming Championships by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo by Dr. Jim Miller of the FINA Sumidero Canyon race in Mexico.

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.