The Next Generation of Great British and Russian Swimmers

Like the generations of great American butterflyers and Japanese breaststrokers, Great Britain and Russia continue to produce a long line of successful open water swimmers. The young British and Russian swimmers stepped into the spotlight at this weekend's LEN European Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Poreč, Croatia.

Open to men born between 1990-1992 and women born between 1991-1993, British Ellie Faulkner and Russia's Arten Podyakov won the the junior women's and men's 5K races respectively.

Ellie (shown above with her teammate Gareth Keating) won the women's race in 59:56, imitating the great Larisa Ilchenko, as she overtook her competitors at the end of the 5K race.

Arten held off Britain's Gareth Keating in the last 100-meter sprint. Arten won in 55:46 with Gareth just behind in 55:48 as they battled down the stretch.

British Open Water Performance Manager Mark Perry said, "This is the best result ever from a British open water junior team and a great testament to the hard work put in by the swimmers and their home coaches. It proves once again that we are on the right track in selecting our swimmers and that those athletes and coaches that have embraced open water as just another swimming event were right to do so. I am personally delighted with the results and look forward to a bright future working with the growing depth of athletes that we are now developing."

Open Water Internationalization - British in Israel for Rome

13 top British open water swimmers will compete in the first leg of the Open Water LEN Cup in Eilat, Israel this weekend, including Olympic silver medalist Keri-Anne Payne (see photo), Daniel Fogg, 2008 LEN Cup silver medalist and up-and-comers Richard Charlesworth, who has been training in Los Angeles at USC, and Charlotte Wooliscroft.

Mark Perry, British Gas open water Team Leader, said, "This event is more about our athletes and how well they compete, not so much about the international competition. It will be used as qualification for the European Junior Championships and the World Championships, so we want to see how well they can perform. It will be a good test for some of our younger athletes. They will have to battle against the heat so it will test their mettle and we’ll see if they are up for it."

The 2009 LEN Open Water Cup sees the best European men’s and women’s open water swimmers compete in five 10K races throughout the year.

The British team includes Richard Charlesworth, Daniel Fogg, Craig Hamilton, Alfie Howes, Gareth Keating, Sophie Casson, Keri-Anne Payne, Charlotte Woolscroft, Katy Whitfield, Catherine Marcoft, Kayleigh Dawson, Eleanor Faulkner and Lucy Worrall.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association