Maratona Del Golfo Greets The World To Its Shores

24 swimmers - 16 men and 8 women - will compete in the 36K Maratona Del Golfo Capri-Napoli (Maratona Del Golfo Capri-Napoli). Among the pre-race favorites is Olympic 10K marathon swimmer Damian Blaum of Argentina who is currently ranked 2nd overall in the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix rankings behind Bulgaria’s Petar Stoychev.

Petar has won both Race 1 (Santa Fe in Argentina) and Race 4 (Sumidero Canyon in Mexico). Fellow Olympian Rotislav Vitek of the Czech Republic, Syrian Salen Mohammad, Daniel Katzir of Israel and Italian Rodolfo Valenti are also expected to be strong contenders.

On the women's side, Pilar Geijo of Argentina and Camilla Frediani of Italy should are expected to be in the mix.

Photos from the Sumidero Canyon 15K

We previously reported on the pro Sumidero Canyon 15K; Omar Díaz González provided us with a variety of great shots from the race. The photo on left shows the men lining in front of their escort boats: Peter Stoychev, Diego Nogueira, Iván López, Michael Dimitrev, Saleh Mohammad, Damián Blaum, Gabriel Villagoys, Arseniy Larentyev, Manuel Chiu and Rodolfo Valenti.

The next photos show the 15K course down the scenic canyon.



Both the men and women went at each other for hours, constantly jockeying for position...until the very end...


...when Petar Stoychev and Britta Kamrau emerged with down-to-the-wire victories.

When it comes to marathon swimming, these two 2009 inductees in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame live up to their well-deserving reputations.

Swimming in the Canyon and Enjoying Every Moment

Kimberly Plewa (shown swimming in New York on left) is the only American entered into the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in Sumidero Canyon race on April 18th in México.

The Sumidero Canyon race, #27 in the World's Top 100 Open Water Swims, is known formally as XX Maratón de Natación Cañón del Sumidero and is one of the world's most scenic marathon swims.

The 15K Maratón de Natación Cañón del Sumidero takes place on the Grjalva River and was started in 1989 as a memorial for first swim in 1960 by the Pañuelo Rojo (Red Handkerchief) team. The water temperature is approximately 25ºC (77ºF).

Iván López of México and Britta Kamrau of Germany are the defending champions. The Mexican national 25K trials for the World Swimming Championships will be held concurrently with the race.

In the 2009 race, Iván will be competing against Diego Nogueira of Spain, Emilio Angel Fransen of Argentina, Marcos Pinheiro of Brazil, Aleksey Akatiev of Russia, Damian Blaum of Argentina, Fouad Shaikh of Syria, Saleh Mohamed of Syria, Gasper Bohihc of Slovakia, Michael Dmitriev of Israel, Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria, Rodolfo Valenti of Italy, Gabriel Villagoys of Argentina, Rostislav Vitek of the Czech Republic, Rodrigo Elorza of México, Daniel Delgadillo of México and Luis Escobar of México

Kimberly and Britta, who has already won two races on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit this year, will be competing against Yurema Requema of Spain, Esther Nuñez of Spain (shown on left), Ana Uvarova of Russia, Pilar Geijo of Argentina, Nika Kozamernik of Slovakia, Angela Maurer of Germany, Marinela Mendoza of Argentina, Patricia Castañeda of México, Odette Saldivar of México, Alejandra González of México, Lily Anzueto of México and Zaira Cárdenas México.

Esther, who was third overall in the 2008 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix, had some good advice for newcomers into the sport, "Enjoy every moment, every movement in solitude, and every goal you reach even if it is small, as only you know how difficult it was to achieve it."

Photo of Sumidero Canyon by Dr. Jim Miller.

3-for-3 For Britta in Viedma Pro Marathon

Britta Kamrau won the 15K FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix on February 14th in Viedma, Argentina. Britta now has 3 medals in 3 races after winning gold in Rosario and a silver in Santa Fe earlier this month.

Michael Dmitriev (shown below), an Israeli who trains in Texas, was the surprise winner on the men's side over German Alexander Studzinski and Argentinian Damian Blaum.

The race took place on the Rio Negro river with 31 swimmers (13 women and 18 men) from 9 nations competing. The river currents and leaders changed frequently as the swimmers battled constantly around six 2.5K loops in a rectangular course. It was only after the last turn buoy where the top three men and Britta finally broke away from the rest of the men's and women's packs.


Men's Medalists
1. Michael Dmitriev, Israel, 2:45.12
2. Alexander Studzinski, German, 2:45.14
3. Damian Blaum, Argentina, 2:45.37

Women's Medalists
1. Britta Kamrau, Germany, 2:57.22
2. Anna Uvarova, Russia, 2:58.48
3. Esther Nunez, Spain, 3:01.54

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.

Germans Top FINA Race in Rosario

Germans Britta Kamrau (shown below) and Alexander Studzinski (shown on left) won the second leg of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in Rosario, Argentina over the weekend.

Britta finished in 2:11:10 in the 15K Maraton Acuatico Internacional - Rosario and Alexander finished in 2:05:02.

Home country favorites also performed well with Cecilia Biagioli placing third in the women's race and Gabriel Villagoiz and Damian Blaum finishing second and third in the men's race.

The 30-year-old veteran Britta demonstrated her prowess in the triangle course in the Parana River, swimming six 1.8 laps after the initial 2K leg.

Alexander provided us with a first-hand synopsis of the race, "The race was slow in the beginning. I was always in front because nobody else wanted to lead. After 1.5 laps, there was a little gap between me and second place. I just kept swimming and the gap became bigger. I didn´t speed up or anything. After 2.5 laps, the gap was like 40 meters. I pushed for two [more] laps and it paid off. But nearly everybody [else] swam the entire [57K] race in Santa Fe - Coronda, but I got out after 3 hours due to stomach problems. So everybody was a bit tired and no one wanted to follow me."

Kind words, but Alexander appears to be on a comeback after placing 4th in the 2005 FINA World 25K Championships.

The next FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race is in Viedma, Argentina. Additional photos below:



Women
1. Britta Kamrau-Corestein (Germany) 2:11:10
2. Anna Uvarova (Russia) 2:11:16
3. Cecilia Biagioli (Argentina) 2:13:07

Men
1. Alexander Studzinski (Germany) 2:05:02
2. Gabriel Villagoiz (Argentina) 2:06:54
3. Damian Blaum (Argentina) 2:06:56
3. Rodolfo Valenti (Italy) 2:06:56

Photo of Britta by Heiner Köpcke.

Copyright © 2009 by Open Water Source

Stoychev Starts Off in 2009 Where He Finished in 2008

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Petar Stoychev won the 36th annual 57 km (35.4 mile) Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda in 8 hours 53 minutes 11 seconds over Argentinian Damián Blaum (8:53:13), Rostislav Vitek of the Czech Republic (8:53:18), Rodolfo Valenti of Italy (8:53:20) and Andrea Volpini of Italy (8:55:18).



20-year-old Linsy Heister of the Netherlands, who continues to improve after her 4th-place finish in the 25 km at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships, upset two-time winner Britta Kamrau, finishing in 8:55:27


The incredible Petar Stoychev finished strong, picked up right where he finished in 2008. His first victory comes only a few months after he wrapped up his 8th consecutive FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix title in 2008 (his 8th consecutive circuit champinship). The exciting finish can be seen below:



Photo from the Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda website. Photo of Linsy Heister by ANP.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Swimming Through Santa Fe

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

The 36th annual 57K (35.4 mile) Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda, the first race on the 2009 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit, announced 23 professional marathon swimmers will participate in a highly anticipated and extremely competitive race on Argentina.


Among the male swimmers, 8-time Grand Prix champion and 6:57 English Channel swimmer Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria will face home country favorite Damian Blaum and a stellar field.



German Stefanie Biller, who trains in England, and Spaniard Esther Núñez (shown below) will battle Russian Natalya Pankina, the 2008 Grand Prix champion and a 8:11 English Channel swimmer, and Germans Angela Maurer and Britta Kamrau. Angela has won this race once before and Britta (shown below) has won it twice.

The race course is interesting as the swimmers end the swim by swimming against the oncoming river current and then finishes with 6 loops of a triangular circuit in front of the cheering spectators.

Other male swimmers in the field include Gabriel Villagoiz (Argentina), Guillermo Bértola (Argentina), Alexander Studzinski (Germany), Kerin Rok (Slovenia), Daniel Katzier (Israel), Andrea Volpini (Italy). Rodolfo Valenti (Italy), Andrea Bondanini (Italy), Tomi Stefanovsky (fruit Salad), Rostislav Vitek (Czech Republic) and Libor Smolka (Czech Republic).

Other female swimmers in the field include Noelia Petti (Argentina), Pilar Geijo (Argentina), Marianella Mendoza (Argentina), Rita Garcia (Argentina), Linsy Heister (Holland) and Stretcher Frediani (Italy).




Upper photo of swimmers passing under bridge is from Marea-Roja. Middle photo by AFP shows Damian Blaum with Mark Warkentin walking past Russia's Evgeny Drattsev on left, Damian Blaum drinking and Hungary's Csaba Gercsak on right before the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. Lower photo of Esther Nunez by El Depornauta. Lower photo of Britta Kamrau by Heiner Köpcke.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Very Cool Swimming Websites – Part 2

In July 2008, we listed 20 Very Cool Websites (see below), but the number of websites providing valuable information in a visual dynamic manner continues to increase.

A second list of 25 unique, educational and informative websites is below for your viewing pleasure (listed in no particular order).

If your favorite open water swimming website is not shown, please share the link with our community.


1. Midmar Mile: a comprehensive portal to the world’s largest open water swimming event.
2. New Zealand Ocean Swim Series: a comprehensive portal created by Scott Rice, one of the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year nominees
3. Kristel Köbrich: a Spanish-language website of a top pro swimmer from Chile
4. Damian Blaum: a Spanish-language website of a top pro swimmer from Argentina.
5. Manhattan Island Foundation: comprehensive portal to open water swimming in and around New York City.
6. European Open Water Swimming Championships: a website covering the European Open Water Swimming Championships by the accomplished group at Deep Blue Media
7. Lewis Gordon Pugh: multi-lingual website of an incredible open water swimming adventurer and environmentalist.
8. Lac St-Jean: a bilingual French-English website of the famous Lac St-Jean pro swim.
9. Santa Fe-Coronda: Spanish-language website of the pro Sante Fe-to-Coronda race in Argentina.
10. Aqualoja: a bilingual Portuguese-English website that combines event coverage with an online swim shop.
11. Finnish Winter Swimming Championships: a bilingual Finnish-English website of cold water swimming in Finland21.
12. Edith van Dijk: a Dutch-language website of a remarkable pro swimmer who is a nominee for the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year:
13. Global Open Water Swimming: the world’s most comprehensive open water swimming news portal with excellent coverage of European open water swimming events.
14. Hoffy Swims: personal open water swimming blog of Paul Hopfensperger.
15. Cape Swim: an open water swimming site for Cape Town, South Africa.
16. Ana Marcela Cunha: a Portuguese-language website of a top pro swimmer from Brazil.
17. Cook Strait: facts and figures on the Cook Strait in New Zealand.
18. Channel Swimmers: for those who want to swim, or have swum, the English Channel.
19. FINA: FINA information on open water swimming.
20. Bulgarian Open Water: information on Bulgarian open water swimming
21. Outdoor Swimming Society: outdoor swimming in the U.K.
22. Beaufort Wind Scale: from the US National Weather Service.
23. Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association: a description of events in the Santa Barbara Channel by Emilio Casanueva, a nominee for the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year
24. Great North Swim: website of the Great North Swim series in the U.K.
25. Pacific Swims: website of open water swimming events in the South Pacific.

From the July 2008 list of unusual, beautiful or informative websites:

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.

Open Water Swimming Risk

In the race course of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit in Chiapas, Mexico, there was a crocodile sighting near the incredibly scenic Sumidero Canyon (Cañon Sumidero).




The crocodile was sighted by Yuko Matsuzaki of Japan and a few other swimmers as Mexico's Ivan Lopez was having an incredibly competitive battle with Russia's Russia’s Daniil Serebrennikov and Argentina's Damian Blaum.

Photos provided by Matsuzaki.

Ivan Lopez Wins Final Pro Race in Mexico

Mexico's own Ivan Lopez won the final race on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit in Chiapas, Mexico on October 18th. The 15K race cuts through the incredibly scenic Sumidero Canyon (Cañon Sumidero) along the Grijalva River.

As is usual in this race, the swim was a close 15K mano-a-mano battle with the top swimmers thrashing through the canyon. The exuberant Lopez finished just ahead of Russia’s Daniil Serebrennikov and Damian Blaum of Argentina.

Lopez said, "I had always been my goal to win a [FINA] Grand Prix. Finally after several years, it was achieved and I am very satisfied and very happy. It was a very strong close race. We swam very fast from the beginning and at the end, I luckily got a good position in the group and managed to reach the goal tenths before anyone else."

In contrast, Britta Kamrau easily won the women’s race by over five minutes in 3:18:25 over Mexico's Alejandra Gonzalez and Esther Nuñez Morera of Spain.

Photos by Dr. Jim Miller.

MEN:
1. Ivan Lopez (MEX), 3:13:52
2. Daniil Serebrennikov (RUS), 3:13:53.40
3. Damian Blaum (ARG), 3:13:53.97

WOMEN:
1. Britta Kamrau-Corestein (GER), 3:18:25
2. Alejandra Gonzalez (MEX), 3:23:18
3. Esther Nuñez Morera (ESP), 3:24:36

2012 London Olympics 10K Marathon Swim

Although the 2012 London Olympics 10K Marathon Swim has yet to be formally approved by the IOC, unofficial rumors have circulated that the race might be held in Lake Serpentine in Hyde Park in the heart of London.

World-class open water swimmers like Damian Blaum of Argentina have already created websites celebrating their anticipated participation in the 2012 London Olympic 10K.

USA Swimming announced its plans to get its best open water swimmers ready for London. The USA Swimming National Team 2009-2012 Quadrennial Plan is as follows:

2009
June 14: 2009 World Swimming Championships Selection Meet in Ft. Myers, Florida
July 13-19: International Training Camp
July 19-25: 2009 World Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy
August: USA Swimming National Open Water 10K Championships
September 7: FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup on Governor's Island, New York

2010
July 17-22: 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Lac St-Jean, Quebec, Canada
August: USA Swimming National Open Water 10K Championships
August 23: Pan Pacific Championships (Open Water)

2011
July 17-23: 2011 World Swimming Championships (open water) in Shanghai, China
August: USA Swimming National Open Water 10K Championships

2012
July 27-August 20: London Olympic Games

If the 2012 Olympic 10K race is indeed held in Lake Serpentine, there is an annual Peter Pan Christmas Day Race that was captured by U.S. Marine Major, Duff Kelly:



Photo of Lake Serpentine and the Serpentine Swimming Club members is from the Serpentine Swimming Club website. Kevin Murphy and many English Channel swimmers are members of the Serpentine Swimming Club website.

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.