Photo Finish at the Mexican Selection Trials

Outsiders think of open water swimmers more in terms of endurance rather than sprinting ability...but the top Mexican men proved that sprint speed makes all the difference at the Mexican Swimming Federation's (Federacion Mexicana de Natacion) 5K selection race for the 2009 World Swimming Championships.


The Maraton Acuatico Ruta del Arrecife was held in Cancun where the top three men were decided by an incredible photo finish:
1. Daniel Delgadillo: 1:27.19 (shown on the left)
2. Iván López: 1:27.24
3. Luis Escobar: 1:27.25
4. Rodrigo Elorza: 1:28.41
5. Arturo Pérez-Verti: 1:30.13

On the women's side, Alejandra Gonzalez (shown above) swam alone for nearly the entire 5K to secure the women's spot on the Mexican National Open Water Team for the World Championships:

1. Alejandra Gonzalez: 1:37.18
2. Patrician Castañeda: 1:39.17
3. Odette Saldivar: 1:40.23
4. Lily Anzueto Moguel: 1:42.49
5. Zaira Cardenas: 1:43.02

The Mexican 10K trials will be on March 28 in Chiapas. The 25K trials will be held concurrently with the 15K FINA Open Water Swimming World Cup on April 18th in the beautiful Sumidero Canyon.

Mexican Trials for the World Championships

Omar Díaz González informed us of the Mexican Swimming Federation's (Federacion Mexicana de Natacion) 3-part plan to select the top Mexican open water swimmers who will compete at the World Swimming Championships in Rome this coming July.


The Mexican 5K trials for the World Swimming Championships will be held this weekend in the beautiful sea off of Cancun. The world championship trials for the 10K will be on March 28 in Chiapas. The 25K trials will be held concurrently with the 15K FINA Open Water Swimming World Cup on April 18th in the beautiful Sumidero Canyon.

From tropical seas to scenic rivers, Mexico is challenging its athletes in a variety of open water settings in preparation for Rome.

Photo of Sumidero Canyon by Dr. Jim Miller.