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.

Physical and Spiritual Strength to Succeed

Surrounded by the sheer cliff walls in Sumidero Canyon in southern Mexico, Petar Stoychev and Britta Kamrau came through yet again with nail-biting victories. When it comes to marathon swims, these two new inductees in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame live up to their well-deserving reputations.

Petar, Bulgaria's flag-bearer at the 2008 Olympics, set a new course record of 3:09.49.58 just barely edging out Diego Nogueira of Spain in 3:09.51.64 and defending champion Ivan Lopez of 3:09.53.12. Michael Dmitriev of Israel was fourth in 3:10.21.51.

All four swimmers had taken turns leading the pack at one point, but it was the experience and strength of Petar that won the day. "I did not, at any time, feel under pressure. But as the [race] progressed, I made my best effort to be able to deliver my final attack. The effort made in the skills of open water is quite exhausting, you must have a physical and spiritual strength to succeed."

The women's race also came down to a stroke-for-stroke finish between German rivals Britta Kamrau and Angela Maurer. By less than half a second, Britta out-touched Angela in a time of 3:24.25.71 to 3:24.26.29. Right on their hips, Daniela Inacio of Portugal and Esther Núñez of Spain finished in 3:24.32.15 and 3:24.32.52, respectively.

For Mexico, the race also served as its national team selection meet for the FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome. Ivan, Manuel Chiu and Zaira Cardenas secured their country's positions for Rome.

Swimmers from 11 different nations raced on the Grijalva River with many of them also heading to Rome to renew their open water rivalries. The top 10 results are below:

1. Peter Stoychev (Bulgaria) 3:09.49
2. Diego Nogueira (Spain) 3:09.51
3. Iván López (Mexico) 3:09.53
4. Michael Dimitrev (Israel) 3:10.21
5. Saleh Mohammad (Syria) 3:10.27
6. Damián Blaum (Argentina) 3:10.58
7. Gabriel Villagoys (Argentina) 3:10.59
8. Arseniy Larentyev (Portugal) 3:11.01
9. Manuel Chiu (Mexico) 3:11.02
10. Rodolfo Valenti (Italy) 3:11.02

1. Britta Kamrau (Germany) 3:24.25
2. Angela Maurer (Germany) 3:24.26
3. Daniela Inacio (Portugal) 3:24.32
4. Esther Nunez (Spain) 3:24.32
5. Zaira Cardenas (Mexico) 3:25.12
6. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) 3:26.25
7. Kozamernik Nina (Slovakia) 3:27.00
8. Cindy Toscano (Guatamala) 3:29.00
9. Lily Anzueto (Mexico) 3:32.46
10. Mariananela Mendoza (Argentina) 3:37.59

Photo by Agency Mexsports shows the escort boats in Sumidero Canyon. More photos will be posted soon.

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.

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

Pro Season Climax in Cancun

The FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit climaxed in Cancun, Mexico today.

FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee chairman Sid Cassidy was in Cancun and gives a first-person account here for Swimming World Magazine.

One main story line included the loss by RCP Tiburon Mile winner Trent Grimsey who made a key navigational mistake towards the end, opening up an opportunity for Thomas Lurz to take a one-second victory over Mexico’s Ivan Lopez who was, in turn, one second ahead of Russia’s Daniil Serebrennikov.

The second main story line was an old story where Olympic 10K gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko overtook Angela Maurerby a second and Britta Kamrau by two seconds.

Women's Results
1. Larisa Ilchenko (RUS), 2:02:04.42
2. Angela Mauer (GER), 2:02:05.35
3. Britta Kamrau (GER), 2:02:06.47
4. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA), 2:02:08.76
5. Imelda Martinez (MEX), 2:02:12.06
6. Alice Franco (ITA), 2:02:16.13
7. Esther Nunez (ESP), 2:02:29.63
8. Natalya Pankina (RUS), 2:04:20.67
9. Alejandra Gonzalez (MEX) , 2:04:21.18
10.Shelley Clark (AUS), 2:06:45.77
11.Lily Anzueto (MEX), 2:08:38.93
12.Odette Saldivar (MEX), 2:09:09.50
13.Melsie Munoz (GUA), 2:19:01.59

Men's Results
1. Thomas Lurz (GER), 1:52.23.31
2. Ivan Lopez (MEX), 1:52:24.65
3. Daniil Serebrennikov (RUS), 1:52:27.08
4. Valerio Cleri (ITA), 1:52:31.05
5. Yuri Kudinov (RUS), 1:52:32.43
6. Daniel Delgadillo (MEX), 1:52:33.84
7. Mazen Aziz (EGY), 1:52:35.02
8. Allan Carmo (BRA), 1:52:35.37
9. Damian Blaum (ARG), 1:52:37.65
10.Brendan Capell (AUS), 1:52:39.10
11.Trent Grimsey (AUS), 1:54:44.24
12.Rodrigo Elorza (MEX), 1:55:34.13
13.Pablo Villalvazo (MEX), 1:58:49.85
14.Adel Ragab (EGY), 1:58:50.20
15.Manuel Chiu (MEX), 2:00:15.58
16.Juan Prem (GUA), 2:08:30.83
17.Cecilio Chup (GUA), 2:11:52.15
DQ Luis Escobar (MEX)