Whitfield Beats Olympians - Lurz Rolls On

Thomas Lurz continued his winning streak over a strong field by winning the Great London Swim, a wetsuit-compulsory 1-mile race in 21˚C water, but it was the women's field where Katy Whitfield upset a group of well-known pool and open water swimming Olympians.

Katy, a member of UK's national open water team, has gained experience on the international circuit, and saw her investment pay off at the Royal Victoria Dock.

Katy swam confidently despite swimming the furthest route amidst a slew of Olympic medalists. Thomas also swam confidently and was in control throughout the race, swimming shoulder-to-shoulder with David Davies for most of the way, but when Thomas turned on his afterburners, David was unable to hold on. However, a late attack from the group, led by Daniel Fogg who swam a great line to the finish, made it exciting for the spectators.

Following in the Olympians and elite swimmers, 1,000 age-group, fitness and masters swimmers took off over the same course. British Gas Great Swim commentator Steve Parry said: "It was an elite race of exceptional quality, but the most important thing was to see the thousands of swimmers of all ages and abilities taking part and enjoying the day."

The result of the top 10 Women and Men:

1. Katy Whitfield (GBR) 17.39.74
2. Poliana Okimoto (BRA) 17.42.90
3. Cassie Patten (GBR) 17.48.85
4. Keri-Anne Payne (GBR) 17.50.52
5. Steffi Biller (GER) 17.58.54
6. Stephanie Rice (AUS( 17.59.37
7. Vanessa Raw (GBR) 19.15.19
8. Harriet Brettle (GBR) 19.16.67
9. Ellis Jackson (GBR) 19.22.96
10. Abbie Thorrington (GBR) 19.24.77

1. Thomas Lurz (GER) 16.24.62
2. Dan Fogg (GBR) 16.26.12
3. Dave Davies (GBR) 16.29.29
4. Petar Stoychev (BUL) 16.29.71
5. Tom Allen (GER) 16.32.35
6. Mazen Aziz (EGY) 16.34.51
7. Dave Carry (GBR) 16.47.26
8. Richard Stannard (GBR) 17.11.25
9. Scott Hathaway (GBR) 17.36.95
10. Fred Clatworthy (NZL) 17.37.43

Associated Press photo of Thomas Lurz. Photo of start from the Great London Swim website.

Fun-filled Foursome Of Fun

East, west, north and south...the sport continues to boom throughout the British Isles.

The first in a series of four Great Swims, the Great London Swim, will be held on August 15th at the Royal Victoria Dock in London.

2009 world 10K champion Keri-Anne Payne, 10K bronze medalist Cassandra Patten and and Olympic 10K silver medalist David Davies will headline the elite athletes while thousands of others from every age and ability will also participate.

The next races include Great Scottish Swim in Glasgow on August 29th, the Great North Swim in Lake Windermere on September 12-13th and the Great East Swim in Suffolk on September 26th.

The elite athletes - both male and female - will be racing for the £1,000 first prize, £750 second prize, £500 third prize, £250 fourth prize and the £150 fifth prize.

Mile After Mile

Inches...feet...yards...pounds...quarts... while the world used metric measurements, a handful of countries still use the imperical units of measurements: UK, US, Myanmar and Liberia.

Although 1K, 2K, 5K, 10K and 25K races are popular the world over in open water swimming, mile (1.6K) swims are gaining popularity.

These one-mile races include the RCP Tiburon Mile in San Francisco Bay, the new Pagganck Mile that will be part of the Governor's Island Swim Weekend in New York City, and the Great Swim Series that includes Great London Swim, the Great Scottish Swim, the Great North Swim and the Great East Swim.

This Monday morning in California, there is also the Millerton Mile that serves as the 2009 US Masters Swimming 1-mile national championship. Mike Shaffer, 43 of Ventura County Masters, and Jeff Erwin, 44 of Idaho's Sawtooth Masters (shown on left), who both dominated the distance freestyle events in the pool national masters championships are expected to be the class of the field in the Millerton Lake.

Photo of the start of the 1-mile Pacific Open Water Challenge in California by Bob Maguglin.

Great Swim Series in the UK

The 2009 Great Swim Series includes the four events, all 1-mile televised open water swimming events for people of all ages and abilities.

The events will include Olympic medalists and celebrities.

1. Great London Swim at the Royal Victoria Docks in London on the August 15-16.
2. Great Scottish Swim in Strathclyde Park on August 29-30.
3. Great North Swim in Lake Windermere on September 12-13 [note: already sold out]
4. Great East Swim in Ipswich Alton Water on September 26-27

Further updates on the Great Channel Swim will be forthcoming.