Tragedy in Beijing

Time Magazine reported on the unfortunate death of the relative of a U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team coach. Sean Gregory, Time's correspondent in Beijing, quoted Chloe Sutton in his breaking story

"There's all this security around — how could that happen? It's definitely makes athletes more nervous. I wanted to go to the Silk Market, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs. Now, I don't know if I'm going to do that," said Chloe.

For more information, click here.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Expect the Unexpected

'Expect the Unexpected' is one mantra of open water swimmers, whether it is in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, a solo swim or local ocean race.

'Expect the Unexpected' is also the mantra of the media and general public when a new face or magical moment at the Olympics captures the attention of the world.

Can Chloe Sutton or Mark Warkentin become one of those individuals who is granted hero status by the media and sporting fans after a dramatic effort in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim?

Or will a new Olympic hero be Natalie du Toit, Maarten van der Weijden or some other unheralded marathon swimmer?

Over the next 14 days, we’ll bring you some special insight from these special athletes. Starting tomorrow, we provide a detailed Q&A series with Chloe and Mark.

Photo by View Images of Chloe Sutton at the 2007 Pan American Games where she emerged victorious in the 10K against rival Poliana Okimoto of Brazil.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim - Course Map

The Olympic 10K Marathon Swim course was finalized by the Beijing Olympic Committee and FINA's Technical Open Water Swimming Committee.

The course can be described as follows:

A rectangular course with the long legs 1,113 meters in length and the short legs 109 meters in length. The starting pontoon and the finish touch pads are in the same area in front of the VIP seating and TV cameras.

The feeding station is floating dock on the same side as the start and finish. The dock is connected to the land so the coaches can walk back and forth watching and cheering on their swimmers on one side of the course.

The finish is nearly 1,000 meters in length from the last turn buoy so it should be an exciting final sprint down the straightaway into a narrow finish chute and towards the finish pads.

If it is windy, the swimmers will be swimming with the wind and whitecaps on the final straightaway sprint and against the wind on the opposite side.

The turn buoys will be several buoys lashed together in order to minimize the physical contact around the buoys...or as much as possible.

A detailed map of the course will be provided shortly.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

NBC Describes the Olympic 10K Swim

This is how NBC describes the newest sport at the Olympics:

25 athletes swim four 2.5-kilometer loops in the Olympic rowing basin. Prior to the start, the swimmers are marked with numbers in black ink on their wrists, arms and shoulder blades for identification purposes. The swimmers are also given two wrist transponders that enable accurate timing.

The swimmers are given a warning every minute beginning five minutes before the race start. They are also given a 30-second warning and must have one foot on the edge of the dock at the start. The swimmers dive in from a floating start pontoon when they hear the air horn start.

Throughout the race, the swimmers swim in large packs drafting off one another, each trying to gain a positioning advantage over one another, often inadvertently bumping and hitting each other.

Over the course of the 1 hour 50-55 minute race, the swimmers can choose to receive hydration from their coach who is standing on a floating feeding pontoon. There are two feeding stations on the west side of the course, but each swimmer and coach must decide which one of the two stations is best suited to their strategy. If a swimmer misses a feeding, they store gel packs in their swim suits that they can take at any time during the race when they quickly roll over on their back.

There are large turn buoys at each of the four corners of the course. Each swimmer must round the turn buoys on their left shoulder. There are also many intermediate buoys along the course, but the swimmers can swim on either side of these buoys at their choice.

There is much physical contact as the pack swims along the course, especially around the turn buoys and in and out of the feeding station. As in other sports, the swimmers can be called for fouls or disqualified by three referees who closely follow the swimmers in boats throughout the race.

The referees give three types of calls. A whistle is given as a warning when a swimmer impedes another competitor. These warning whistles are frequently given. A yellow card is given if the infraction is more serious. Impeding can mean purposefully veering another swimmer off-course, swimming over a competitor’s legs or back, knocking, banging or pulling on arms or frequently hitting another competitor’s feet or legs. When a yellow card is given, the swimmer’s number is written on a whiteboard so the entire field can see from the water. Several yellow cards are generally given in a race. Receiving two yellow cards leads to an immediate disqualification. A red flag indicates unsportsmanlike conduct for the most serious infraction such as punching, pulling back a competitor or swimming aggressively over a competitor. A red flag also leads to an immediate disqualification. Red flags are less frequently given.

Generally, the last loop is the fastest because the swimmers start to sprint and the lead pack starts to thin out. The final sprint culminates in a finish chute where the swimmers are directed by lane lines towards a floating finish pontoon with six touch pads elevated above the water. Swimmers can touch any one of the six touch pads, but they must clearly touch one finish pad with their hand to officially finish.

Cameras are placed on the finish pontoon and around the finish area to help the judges decide winners in close finishes which are quite common.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Mrs. Clean, Dara Torres

The hottest topic in swimming is Dara Torres.

Dara's career and comeback at the age of 41 are legendary:

• Member of 5 Olympic swim teams with 3 world records
• Winner of 9 Olympic medals including 4 gold
• Swam in international competitions since the age of 14
• Set her best times in the 50 and 100 free at the age of 41
• Set a masters world record 3 weeks after her daughter’s birth

What Dara has achieved is an inspiration and wonder to Baby Boomers and those in Generation X and Generation Y. How does she do it?

In her own words, Dara explains, “I wake up and play with Tessa (her daughter) while we eat cereal and our breakfast. Then, the nanny comes and I go to practice from 8 to 10 am. After workout, I do dryland exercises with cords for an hour and a half and then get stretched and mashed. I spend some more time with Tessa and then get a massage. After, I pay bills and do other things.”

“…and it is not just stretching, it is resistance stretching where I am resisting while working on flexibility.”

“Mashing is when they use their feet to massage me because their hands can get tired. They stand on my legs and it really gets the toxics and lactate acid out so I can recover faster.”

Her description of her daily regimen may sound simple, but after observing Dara working out at Stanford University, it is clear that her regimen is successful because of her unparalleled focus, scientific thinking and world-class physical gifts.

Her swimming sets and stroke work in the pool are beautiful to observe.

“Dara is the fastest [female] swimmer in the water,” says Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas, USA Swimming’s Sports Science Director of Sports Science and the world’s leading expert on lactate testing. “She has great technique. We carefully analyzed Dara’s stroke at the US Olympic Training Center using the Swim Power device. After a detailed analysis of her technique, we made small adjustments in her technique before the Olympic Trials."

With the abundance of unfounded rumors and speculation that Dara is taking drugs to enhance her performance, Dara is open to all current and future testing.

Dara not only has her urine tested frequently, but she has also volunteered to have her blood tested regularly.

“They can test me all they want,” said Dara with confidence and a hint of frustration in her voice. “I need people to know I am clean. And, they keep my blood for years. They take five vials of blood each time and if there is some advanced analysis developed in the future, they can test my blood then.”

With that kind of training regimen, focus and track record of success over 3 decades, it is understandable why Dara is breaking new ground for athletes of all ages, abilities and backgrounds…fairly and cleanly.

Photo of Dara Torres by Colin A Gift at the USA Olympic Swim Team Media Day at Stanford University.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Open Water Swimming Olympians – the Men

25 of the world's best open water swimmers will compete in the men's Olympic 10K Marathon Swim starting at 9:00 pm on August 21st (9:00 pm New York time on August 20th).



David Davies of Great Britain will take out the race at an incredibly fast pace and will turn up the heat on each loop. Will the rest of the field including Vladimir Dyatchin, Thomas Lurz, Maarten van der Weijden, Ky Hurst, Mark Warkentin and Petar Stoychev have enough to stick with him and out-sprint him at the end?

Who do you think is going to win? Vote for your gold medal favorite on the left.

Keep in mind that the men will be swimming outdoors in smog, tremendous heat (high 80ºs or nearly 30 ºC) and humidity (probably between 74-77%).

Leaving nothing to chance, Davies’ preparation is apparently aided by the British military experience in desert and jungle warfare. Britain’s Ministry of Defense has special knowledge and specific training suggestions to handle cramps, dehydration and exhaustion caused by the heat and humidity that will tremendously bear down on the swimmers.

Note: the swimmers are listed in the order they qualified for the Olympics.

1. Vladimir Dyatchin, Russia
2. David Davies, Great Britain
3. Thomas Lurz, Germany
4. Maarten van der Weijden, Netherlands
5. Evgeny Drattsev, Russia
6. Ky Hurst, Australia
7. Mark Warkentin, USA
8. Valerio Cleri, Italy
9. Gianniotis Spyridon, Greece
10. Brian Ryckeman, Belgium
11. Gilles Rondy, France
12. Luis Escobar, Mexico
13. Mohamed El-Zanaty Metwaly Mez, Egypt
14. Saleh Mohammad, Syria
15. Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria
16. Csaba Gercsak, Hungary
17. Rostislav Vitek, Czech Republic
18. Chad Ho, South Africa
19. Erwin Maldonado, Venezuela
20. Allan Do Carmo, Brazil
21. Damian Blaum, Argentina
22. Daniel Katzir, Israel*
23. Jose Francisco Hervas, Spain
24. Arseniy Lavrentyev, Portugal
25. Zu Lijun, China

Note: Daniel Katzir of Israel did not meet the Olympic qualification standards of his national federation, so he may be replaced by another swimmer to be named.

Who do you think will win? Vote on the poll on the left-hand border.

Photo by Erin Greene at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships with silver medalist David Davies, gold medalist Vladimir Dyatchin and bronze medalist Thomas Lurz pictured from left to right.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Showing Some Speed for Beijing

Chloe Sutton showed some great speed with a third-place finish in the 800-meter freestyle at the US Olympic Swimming Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday night.

Chloe recorded a best time of 8:31.23. Her last 400 meters was a very fast 4:16.23. If she is in the lead pack down the finish in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, she should be able to close better than anyone else with that kind of speed.

There is a little over 800 meters between the last turn buoy and the finish touch pads in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. It is a clearly-marked straightaway course that is ideally suited for a closer like Chloe.

The showdown between Chloe and her Russian rival, Larisa Ilchenko, British rival, Cassandra Patten, and Brazilian rival, Poliana Okimoto will be a memorable and enjoyable race to watch.

Catch it at 9:00 pm New York time on Tuesday, August 19th.

Photo by Dr. Jim Miller of Chloe winning the 2006 10K Pan Pacific Championships.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images of China - Part 21

Courtesy of Steven Munatones, Beijing, China.

Swimming World Magazine reported on June 2nd that Olympic 10K Marathon Swim hopeful Karley Stutzel of Canada had collasped at the end of the 10K qualification swim at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

"I don't even remember the last loop at all," said Stutzel who had been a stalwart on the FINA World Cup and Grand Prix circuits for years. "My coach said I just stumbled and collapsed when I got out of the water and struggled up on the dock. I have swum in much colder waters for longer. I don't know what happened."

Fortunately, Stutzel quickly recovered and, although very disappointed, is now busy on her post-swimming career in Canada. While she was never able to realize her Olympic dreams, it was clear to all in Beijing that she gave it her all in her last race.

Photo taken immediately after Beijing race by Pei Qingsheng.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images of China - Part 20

Yanqiao Fang, China's female representative in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, finished right behind multi-time world champion, Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands, at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Seville.

"The world champions are not that much stronger than me," confidently said Fang who has been lurking around the top 10 for the past year. She finished 11th at the 2007 World Swimming Championships in Melbourne where she was repeatedly stung by jellyfish.

Jellyfish are one thing, but aggressive rivals are another.

"I understand being physically strong is important. You don't have your own lane, instead you fight to keep on course," said Fang to the China Daily. "It's like a battle in the water. The real battle is in August [at the Beijing Olympics]."
Zu Lijun, a 1500-meter specialist like Fang who moved up to the 10K, will represent China in men's 10K.

So the 10K hopes of China will fall on the shoulders of Fang and Zu.

And, the future of open water swimming in China appears to be bright.

1,022 swimmers took part in the 2008 Chinese Open Water National Championships in a man-made lake near the east coast of China (see photo). Out of these participants, China is bound to develop some future world-class marathon swimmers.

Photo footnote: The venue was Qiandao Lake (literally, "a lake of thousand islands") which has 1,078 large islands and a few thousand smaller ones in the lake. The water in the lake is very clear and used to produce the Nongfu Spring Mineral water in China. Some of the more exotic islands in the lake are called the Bird Island, the Snake Island, the Lock Island and...the Island to Remind You of Your Childhood.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Looking Forward to Beijing from Setubal Bay

Valerio Cleri of Italy and Ana Mercela Cunha of Brazil won the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup 2008 in Setubal Bay in Portugal this weekend.

Cleri very convincingly beat Thomas Lurz of Germany and Yuri Kudinov of Russia, 1:52:46.8 to 1:54:10 and 1:55:12 respectively.

Cleri, who has won several previous World Cups, is swimming well during his Olympic preparations. In Seville at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships, Cleri finished 8th in a tight pack with Evgeny Drattsev of Russia, Ky Hurst of Australia, Mark Warkentin, Gianniotis Spyridon of Greece and Brian Ryckeman of Belgium.

The women's race was much more exciting as Cunha edged out Angela Maurer of Germany and Andreina Pinto of Venezuala, 2:06:04 to 2:06:08 and 2:06:09. All three women are expected to be in the lead pack to the final sprint at the Olympics.

Cunha, who will the youngest open water swimmer in Beijing, will be joined by her more renowned Brazilian teammate, Poliana Okimoto. 16-year-old Pinto will have something to prove as she was in the top 3 for a good portion of the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships until her goggles were knocked off twice. Maurer, coming back from retirement, will be 33 years in August and will rely on her racing experience as much as her younger competitors rely on raw speed.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Suit Styles from England to Beijing

On the right is a picture of Captain Matthew Webb, taken in 1875, after he became the first person to successfully cross the English Channel.

On the left is a picture of Mark Warkentin who is America's representative in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim to be held in Beijing on August 20, 2008.

Judging from the pictures of these two men, who are the elite of their respective eras, swim suit styles for open water swimmers do not seem to have changed much over the past 133 years.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

NBC Nightly News with Chloe Sutton

NBC Nightly News online posted a nice story on Chloe Sutton.

Entitled "16-year-old to Swim the Great Pool of China", Chloe can be seen on NBC Nightly News.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images of China - Part 20

Yanqiao Fang, China's female representative in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, finished right behind multi-time world champion, Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands, at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Seville.

"The world champions are not that much stronger than me," confidently said Fang who has been lurking around the top 10 for the past year. She finished 11th at the 2007 World Swimming Championships in Melbourne where she was repeatedly stung by jellyfish.

Jellyfish are one thing, but aggressive rivals are another.

"I understand being physically strong is important. You don't have your own lane, instead you fight to keep on course," said Fang to the China Daily. "It's like a battle in the water. The real battle is in August [at the Beijing Olympics]."

Zu Lijun, a 1500-meter specialist like Fang who moved up to the 10K, will represent China in men's 10K.

So the 10K hopes of China will fall on the shoulders of Fang and Zu.

And, the future of open water swimming in China appears to be bright.

1,022 swimmers took part in the 2008 Chinese Open Water National Championships in a man-made lake near the east coast of China (see photo). Out of these participants, China is bound to develop some future world-class marathon swimmers.

Photo footnote: The venue was Qiandao Lake (literally, "a lake of thousand islands") which has 1,078 large islands and a few thousand smaller ones in the lake. The water in the lake is very clear and used to produce the Nongfu Spring Mineral water in China. Some of the more exotic islands in the lake are called the Bird Island, the Snake Island, the Lock Island and...the Island to Remind You of Your Childhood.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images from Beijing - Part 19

Given the anticipated heat, humidity and smog levels in Beijing in August, and the tremendous pace that the swimmers will be maintaining for two hours during the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, it will be very interesting to see what swim suits the open water swimmers will use at the Olympics.

As is well-documented, the new high-tech suits not only compress the body, but they also retain body heat extraordinarily well. In a 100-meter freestyle or a 200-meter butterfly in a pool in a well-ventilated air-conditioned facility, these suits have obvious significant benefits.

In the open water event, a two-hour race under high-humidity, high-heat and high-smog conditions held outdoors, the compression and increased body heat may require some athletes to hydrate more often and in greater amounts. Just a guess.

To date, FINA has approved the following suits:

1. TYR Tracer
2. Speedo LZR
3. blueSeventy Pointzero3
4. blueSeventy 3+
5. blueSeventy Nero 10k (openwater)
6. blueSeventy Nero Comp (pool)
7. XTERRA Velocity .02

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Long History of British Success in Open Water

David Davies of the U.K. is considered to be one of the gold medal favorites in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. On August 21st in Beijing, Davies will dive into the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park to face 24 other world-class open water swimmers, all of whom have significantly more open water experience than him.

But Davies has heart and a plan. His strategy is to begin the race at furious pace and challenge his competitors to keep up. It is a risky strategy, but one that works for him and his unbelievable aerobic capabilities.

Upon his broad shoulders, Davies will carry with him the long illustrious history of British open water swimming.

As we look back on some of renowned British swimmers who made their mark in open water swimming, Michael Read is among the first on any historian’s list.

Read was the King of the Channel® from 1979 –2000, a title he received from the Channel Swimming Association Ltd. for successfully crossing the English Channel more times than any other man - 33 times to date. 1979 was a remarkably productive year, when Read completed 6 crossings. 29 of his swims have been in the traditional England-to-France direction.

Read’s road to the record books has rarely been easy. On October 28th, 1979, Read made the latest swim of the English Channel season. Upon his departure from the British shore, there was frost on the pebbles as he walked into the Channel. His crossings have also included five unsuccessful double-crossing attempts. One admirable attempt was his final double-crossing attempt in 1975 where Read raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Lions International Club of Great Britain, despite the fact the swim was aborted one mile from the finish after Read spent a valiant 29 hours and 5 minutes in the water, struggling five mind-boggling hours to finish the last mile.

Back on land, Read has served the Channel Swimming Association in the capacity of Chairman and/or Vice Chairman for over 30 years and was elected President in November 2007.

Before hitting the shores of Dover, Read qualified for the 1960 Rome Olympics as member of Britain's 4 x 220 yards freestyle relay, but he damaged his knee just 5 days before the Olympics and served as an alternate.

He has completed more than 110 swims greater than 16 kilometers, including winning the British Long Distance Swimming Association’s 21-mile Lake Windermere championship on 9 consecutive occasions.

Over a swimming career spanning six decades, including a quadruple-crossing (42 miles) of Lake Windermere, 60 miles around the Isle of Wight, a grueling 24-mile crossing of Loch Ness in 14 hours and 23 minutes in 42.8-44.6F water (6-7C). He completed the 22-mile Loch Lomond in Scotland, a double-crossing of Lake Sursee in Switzerland (18K) and swims in the Nile River, Syria, Czech Republic, Greece, Holland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Tunisia, Yugoslavia, and the U.S. (Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and an escape from Alcatraz Island).

Outside of the pool and waterways of the world, Read has received several Honorary Citizen awards from municipalities around the world and was invited to the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Wedding and to the state banquet at Windsor Castle to mark the “Entente Cordial” with President Chirac and other receptions hosted by the Queen.

Davies can take to heart Read's words in not only the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, but also throughout his post-career, “I never saw obstacles or boundaries, only opportunities."

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images of Beijing - Part 18

A Woman of Courage

Although she had already qualified for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim back in May, Natalie du Toit was officially named to the South African Olympic team this past week.

Swimming World Magazine covered the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships where Natalie courageously qualified for the Olympics: Swimming World Magazine Reports from Seville

Her hurdles included arriving to Seville only the night before after a 12-hour flight where her luggage was lost. In her luggage, she had left the batteries for her prosthetic leg. As her batteries ran out, Natalie struggled around on a non-functioning prosthetic leg...as her competitors were getting good night's sleep. The backstory is at Swimming World Magazine Reports on Natalie

Never one to complain, Natalie continues to encounter challenges...and overcome them.

Currently, she cannot find a heated 50-meter pool to train in near her home, so Natalie is training 20,000 meters per day in a 25-meter pool in Johannesburg. For her 10K competitors, training in a short-course pool would not be optimal. But, for Natalie who is missing her left leg, this presents an even greater obstacle. She must not only double the number of flip turns in her workouts, but she also loses momentum and balance off of each turn.

But, there is a very good reason why broadcasters from South Africa to Tokyo are doing TV specials on Natalie:

“I don’t even think of one leg, two legs. When you’re racing in an able-bodied competition you’re all equal and you go out there and try your best, and that’s what counts."

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images from Beijing - Part 16

This is a photograph of Natalie du Toit (in the yellow swim cap) taken a few minutes before she was to enter the Call Room before the biggest race of her life, the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championship in Seville that served as the Beijing Olympic qualifying race.

It was clear that Natalie was calm, cool and collected amid the commotion and tension all around her.

Despite having just arrived on a 12-hour flight from South Africa to Seville the night before...despite having her luggage - and her battery for her prothetic leg - lost by the airlines company...she was confident that she would perform well that historic day.

She greeted everyone with smiles and took the time to wish others well, from fellow competitors to race officials.

As the athletes gathered in the Call Room to hear the final instructions from the Head Referee, Natalie asked for her passport that was required to enter the Call Room. It turned out that her passport was with her coach who was already on the feeding station in the middle of the lake.

As others rushed around and a boat was summoned to get her passport, Natalie remained focused on her goal: qualifying for the Olympics.

It is this ability to remain focused that will serve Natalie well during the pressure-packed Olympic 10K Marathon Swim on August 20th.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images from Beijing - Part 15

One of the most successful and versatile open water swimmers is making an Olympic comeback after the birth of her daughter.

Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands, who retired after her child's birth, qualified for the women’s Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Seville, Spain. Edith recalled, “Coming around the last turn buoy, I knew I had to hold off the other Europeans. There was a group of swimmers behind me (Teja Zupan of Slovakia, Alice Franco of Italy, Marianna Lymperta of Greece and Margarita Dominguez of Spain) and I knew I just had to finish in front of them by a touch to qualify for Beijing. I am so happy."

The personable, multi-lingual 35-year-old started her open water career in 1990. Between the 1998 World Swimming Championships in Perth and the 2005 World Swimming Championships in Montreal, Edith was the world's dominant professional marathon swimmer. In addition to the numerous professional race victories throughout Europe, South America and Canada, Edith won two gold medals in the 10K, four gold medals in the 25K, two silver medals each in the 5K and 25K, and a bronze each in the 5K, 10K and 25K races over seven world championship events during that period.

These races were held in every kind of open water swimming environment: from the shores and swells of Waikiki in Hawaii to the flat waters of a Montreal rowing basin. She also won in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Barcelona, in a river flowing through Dubai, and in the ocean along the Japanese coast in Fukuoka.

Edith also swam across the English Channel in 2003 and tried to qualify for the 2004 Olympics in the 800-meter freestyle. In 2005, she was named Swimming World Magazine's Long Distance Swimmer of the Year and the Top Sport Female of the Year in the Netherlands.

As one of the greatest ambassadors of the sport, we look forward to watching Edith in Beijing on August 20th.

Photo by Javier Blazquez showing Edith on the left with her daughter after the 25K race at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Lasting Images from Beijing - Part 15

The swimming and gymnastics Olympics finals will be held in the morning so the events can be broadcast live in the evening prime time hours in the U.S.

Because there is a 12-hour time difference between Beijing and New York, NBC can showcase the two most popular Olympic sports live here in the U.S.

While there was initial grumbling among athletes about having finals in the morning, the athletes have accepted the decision and are focused on peaking in the morning in Beijing.

But there is one group of athletes new to the Olympic family who are natural morning people: open water swimmers.

Open water swimmers, whether it is a local race, a domestic national championship or a FINA world championship event, always start in the morning. 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, 10 am – getting ready for a morning peak performance is second-nature.

Sunrise and the calm natural beauty of the shoreline and lakeside in the morning are indeed welcomed sights for open water swimmers worldwide.

Photo by Dr. Jim Miller in the morning at the famous Traversee du Lac Memphremagog in Quebec, Canada.

Great Pool of China

The Olympic 10K Marathon Swim will be held in one of the most spectacular and impressive aquatic venues in the world. It is absolutely HUGE. The open water competition course has lane lines over 1 kilometer in length, anchored to the bottom, and the water is continuously filtered through a gigantic filtration system.


YuPeng Shen, one of the wonderfully helpful bilingual managers at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, provided the following data on the open water pool:

Total Length of Pool: 2,200 meters
Total Length of Open Water Competition Course: 1,153 meters
Width of Open Water Competition Course: 162 meters
Estimated Amount of Water: 1,134,000 tons
Depth of Open Water Competition Course: 3.5 meters
Total Water Surface Area: 6.35 million square meters
Total Seating for Open Water Competition: 37,000

It is truly the Great Pool of China.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association