Very Cool Open Water Swimming Websites

20 unusual, beautiful and interesting open water swim websites are listed below.

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1. Open Water Photography: great open water swimming photos.
2. Natalie du Toit: incredible South African Olympian
3. Maarten van der Weijden: inspirational leukemia survivor.
4. Water World Swim: San Francisco Bay swims.
5. Fiji Swims: open water swims in Fiji.
6. St. Croix Coral Reef Swim: open water race in beautiful St. Croix.
7. Irish Channel: Irish Channel swims.
8. Swim Across America: charity open water swims.
9. Tiburon Mile: world’s most competitive pro race.
10. Swim Trek: open water swimming holiday adventures.
11. La Jolla Cove Swim Club: California open water swimming club.
12. Britta Kamrau: top pro swimmer Britta Kamrau of Germany.
13. Marcos Diaz: top Dominican Republican swimmer.
14. Carina Bruwer: top South African marathon swimmer.
15. Lynne Cox: renowned Lynne Cox.
16. Angela Maurer: top German Olympic swimmer, Angela Maurer.
17. Swim Vacation: British Virgin Islands open water swimming vacations.
18. Rottnest Channel Swim: world's largest channel race.
19. Ocean Swims: worldwide resource on open water events.
20. All about Open Water: educational open water swimming site.

Photo of Joe Orman in San Francisco Bay during New Year's Day Alcatraz Swim. Photo by Colin A Gift.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

European Open Water Swimming News

The European Swimming League, Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN), announced its 5-event 2008 Open Water Cup series:
June 15 in Piombino 10K (Italy)
June 28 in Marmaris 5K (Turkey)
July 13 in Sète 10K (France)
August 14 in Navia 5K (Spain)
August 31 in Porec 5K final (Croatia)
September 1 in Porec 10K final (Croatia)

The series leads into the 2008 European Open Water Championships that are held
September 9-14 in Dubrovnik, Croatia where the championships will feature 5, 10 and 25K race distances.

LEN will also host the European Junior Open Water Championships, July 12 and 13 in Sète, France.

Photo shows German open water swimming stars, Britta Kamrau-Corestein, Thomas Lurz and Angela Maurer. Lurz and Maurer will be representing Germany in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

An Impossible Prediction

Sports fans love filling out their NCAA brackets and predicting what teams will meet in the NBA finals and NFL playoffs. But, these educated and emotional guesses are easy compared to predicting who will qualify for the Olympics in the world’s most pressure-packed race in open water swimming history: the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships.

The top 15 (or 16) finishers at the Seville 2008 World Championships will qualify for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. The Seville World Championships will be held May 3rd (women) and May 4th (men). An additional 9 (or 10) spots will be filled in the second qualifying swim to be held in the actual Olympic course in Beijing in June.

Anything can go wrong in open water swimming. Everyone plans for the unexpected.

But, my predictions and prognostication reasons are listed below. Everyone’s bold and/or anonymous predictions – and reasons why – are greatly welcomed. Given it a shot. Don’t be shy – give us your best patriotic, wild, insider, educated or outlandish predictions.

Don’t be afraid to criticize my predictions, but make sure to give reasons why.

TOP TEN MEN / WHY
1. Grant Hackett, Australia / Fastest 200 freestyler in field + double gold medalist in 1500 freestyle + physical size
2. Vladimir Dyatchin, Russia / Savvy racer + fast closing speed + 2007 world 10K champion
3. Thomas Lurz, Germany / High navigational IQ + can maintain any pace + 2006 world 10K champion
4. Chip Peterson, U.S.A. / Great endurance + can maintain composure and swim at any pace + 2005 world 10K champion
5. Mark Warkentin, U.S.A. / Powerful swimmer + great patience + hitting peak
6. Mohamed El-Zanaty, Egypt / Powerful swimmer + physical size + incredible motivation (as the lone serious medal contender from a Muslim country)
7. Spyridon Gianniotis, Greece / Great endurance (15:03 in 1500 freestyle) + great closing speed (400 freestyle Olympic finalist)
8. David Davies, Great Britain / Great endurance (14:45 in 1500 freestyle) + composure in close races (2004 Olympic bronze medalist)
9. Valerio Cleri, Italy / Experience (multiple FINA World Cup winner) + closing speed + savvy racer (medalist at world championship races)
10. Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria / Most experience in field + motivation + savvy racer (multiple FINA World Cup and FINA Grand Prix winner)

Who is this leave out of the Top Ten? Alan Bircher of Great Britain, Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands, Rondy Gilles of France, Evgeny Drattsev of Russia, Ky Hurst of Australia, Christian Hein of Germany and Simone Ercoli of Italy. Clearly, on any given day, all these men are fully capable of not only qualifying, but also placing in the top three.

TOP TEN WOMEN / WHY
1. Larisa Ilchenko, Russia / Speed + endurance + track record of success (multiple 5K and 10K world champion)
2. Kirsten Groome, U.S.A. / Competitiveness + great endurance + closing speed
3. Cassandra Patten, Great Britain / Endurance + toughness + can maintain position around turn buoys
4. Poliana Okimoto, Brazil / Speedo + motivation (as the lone serious medal contender from a South American country) + savvy racer (multiple FINA World Cup champion)
5. Micha Burden, U.S.A. / Highest navigational IQ + strongest will in field (coming back from a broken rib in an earlier FINA race this year)
6. Melissa Gorman, Australia / Another great Australian distance freestyler with endurance + excellent speed
7. Britta Corestein, Germany / Extremely experienced swimmer (nearly always finishing in the top 5 in 5K, 10K and 25K races) + proven endurance + speed
8. Angela Maurer, Germany / Speed + race experience (2003 10K World Championship bronze medalist) + life experience (mother of a 4-year-old )
9. Edith van Dijk, Netherlands / Speed + race experience (2005 10K World Championship bronze medalist) + life experience (mother of a 2-year-old)
10. Jana Pechanova, Czech Republic / Always finishing in the top ten in the 5K, 10K and 25K races + excellent endurance + speed (8:39 800 freestyler)

Who does this leave out? Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain, Martina Grimaldi of Italy, Rita Kovacs of Hungary, Karley Stutzel of Canada and Ksenia Popova of Russia. On any given day, all these women are fully capable of qualifying.

Expect the Unexpected.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Will the Streak Continue?

Similar to Grant Hackett on the men’s side, Russia’s Larisa Ilchenko looms large over her competition and is considered to be the overwhelming favorite in the women’s Olympic 10km Marathon Swim.

Since Ilchenko burst on the open water swimming scene in 2004, she has established the most impressive track record of success of anyone in the sport.

Her versatility has been evident in numerous venues and in every possible body of water. From a flowing river in Dubai in 2004 to a flat-water rowing basin in Montreal in 2005, the warm Mediterranean Sea in Naples in 2006 and the cold Pacific Ocean in Melbourne in 2007, Ilchenko’s world championship victories are a testament to her endurance, closing sprint speed, navigational IQ and savvy racing tactics.

Her strategy is simple and classic…and it ultimately leads to exciting, made-for-TV close finishes. For the first 5-7K, Ilchenko lurks around in the lead pack, jabbing and fading like a skilled boxer. She never leads and always drafts inches from her competitors in front of her. She rarely lifts her head to look forward and has mastered fast, efficient feedings at the feeding stations or while taking gel packs from her swim suit.

Once the lead pack starts to thin out and separate itself from the rest of the competitors, Ilchenko generally moves up to the second, third or fourth position, never much more than a body distance from the leader.

After the 8K, if any swimmer makes a break, or tries to, Ilchenko instinctively follows, hanging on right behind her competitor’s feet or immediately somewhere off to the side between their hips and feet. Generally, as the remaining lead swimmers approach the last turn buoy, Ilchenko moves into position towards the lead. Either right before or immediately after the last turn buoy, she steps up her pace and catapults herself into the lead or a dead tie with the leader. Then, because she has conserved more energy than her competitors throughout the race with her classic drafting technique, she begins her final kick, often brushes up against her foe until her last move within 25-50 meters from the finish.

From 2004 when she played out her strategy to perfection over Florida’s Sara McLarty in the 5K World Championships to 2007 when she mowed down Cassandra Patten of the U.K. Ilchenko has constantly demonstrated her patience and sense of the dramatic in all her 5K and 10K world championship victories.

However, with an Olympic gold medal on the line in Beijing, Patten, Melissa Gorman of Australia, Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands, Britta Kamrau-Corestein of Germany and Kirsten Groome of Shreveport, Louisiana are only a few of the top swimmers who are going to push Ilchenko to her limits.

These swimmers, all top pool swimmers in their respective countries, have the speed and endurance to upset the gold medal favorite.

Come August 20th 2008, we’ll see if Ilchenko finishes this Olympic quadrennial like the Miami Dolphins in their undefeated 1972 season – or like the New England Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association