FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup Rankings

After 7 closely fought FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup events conducted this year in Santos (Brazil), Setubal (Portugal), Lac St-Jean (Canada), Varna (Bulgaria), Lake Annecy (France), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Manhattan (USA), the top 30 professional marathon female swimmers to date are listed below. 5 more races in Chun An, Shantou and Hong Kong (China), and Dubai and Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) will close out the 2009 season.

1. Poliana Okimoto (Brazil) - 116 points
2. Ana Marcela de Jesus S. Cunha (Brazil) - 100
3. Angela Maurer (Germany) - 88
4. Nadine Pastor (Germany) - 52
5. Karla Sitic (Croatia) - 46
6. Christine Jennings (USA) - 26
6. Mathilde Sorensen (Denmark) - 26
8. Larisa Ilchenko (Russia) - 20
8. Swann Oberson (Switzerland) - 20
10. Nicole Vernon (USA) - 18
10. Stefanie Biller (Germany) - 18
10. Eva Fabian (USA) - 18
13. Heather Maitland (Canada) - 16
13. Kristel Kobrich (Chile) - 16
15. Martina Grimaldi (Italy) - 14
15. Stephanie Hassell (Canada) - 14
15. Natalia Pankina (Russia) - 14
15. Anna Guseva (Russia) - 14
19. Giorgia Consiglio (Italy) - 12
19. Caitlin Nolan (Canada) - 12
19. Maaike Waaijer (Netherlands) - 12
22. Heidi George (USA) - 11
23. Alice Franco (Italy) - 10
23. Nadine Reichert (Germany) - 10
23. Daniela Inacio (Portugal) - 10
26. Linsey Heister (Netherlands) - 8
26. Alejandra Gonzalez (Mexico) - 8
29. Marianna Lymperta (Greece) - 6
29. Elizaveta Gorshkova (Russia) - 6

Winning In Windermere

Daniil Serebrennikov and Nadine Pastor of German upset their more famous elite competitors in the 1-mile British Gas Great North Swim yesterday under sunny skies and in 17°C water in Lake Windermere this weekend. Olympian and race commentator Steve Parry reports, "The elite races demonstrated the importance of tactics for both the men’s and women’s events."

"In the women’s race, 10K world champion Keri-Anne Payne took an early lead until the 1.200K mark while followed by a chasing pack with Germany’s Steffi Biller and Nadine Pastor and the Russian Olympic gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko. At this point, the physicality of the sport really came into the full view with leg and elbow kicks coming into quick exchange."

"Nadine broke free of the chasing pack and used the calm water to her full advantage, while Katy chose to take a different route than the group as she gained valuable yards. Nadine was the clear winner, but you could have thrown a coin over second, third and fourth. Great Britain's Katy Whitfield finished second with the Larisa in third and Keri-Anne in fourth."

The first half of men’s race was led by long-distance specialist Alexander Studzinski of Germany who built up a ten-meter gap between him and the chase pack.

Steve summarizes, "It looked like an impossibility that Alexander was ever going to lose, but Daniil Serebrennikov of Russia swam the perfect race and timed his move flawlessly, pushing ahead for just one [last] metre of the race to give Daniil his second victory in the British Gas Great Swim four-part series. Much to the delight of the home crowd, British junior swimmer Tom Allen finished hin third."

But, more importantly, 6,000 other swimmers entered the event with the world-class swimmers in only the second year of the event.

"The Great Swim brand has created a series of events for people to get excited about," said Steve. "My personal hope is that these mass participation open water swimming events will one day be just as popular and successful as their Great Run counterparts."

Elite Women’s Results:
1. Nadine Pastor (GER) 18.14
2. Katy Whitfield (GBR) 18.15
3. Larisa Ilchenko (RUS) 18.16

Elite Men’s Results:
1. Daniil Serebrennikov (RUS) 16.23
2. Alexander Studzinski (GER) 16.23
3. Tom Allen (GBR) 16.26

The event will be televised in Great Britain in the fall on Channel 4.

German Team To Rome - Shout It Out

The German Swimming Federation announced its 2009 World Swimming Championship team with Stephanie Biller (shown on left) and Angela Maurer swimming the 10K and 25K, Nadine Pastor and Britta Kamrau swimming the 5K, Thomas Lurz and Jan Wolfgarten in the 5K, and Thomas and Christian Reichert in the 10K.

Stephanie's coach, Alan Bircher, said: "The 25km is the one we started the season looking for a medal at the worlds in, so it’s great news she has been picked. There are a lot of very good girls, so you can’t guarantee anything, but I think she’s in with a great shout."

Lurz Doubles Up In Germany, Heading To Rome

The six-time world champion Thomas Lurz and Nadine Pastor won the 5K titles at the Germany's Open Water Swimming National Championships. Thomas won in 54:40.96 over Jan Wolfgarten who finished in 54:45.11. Nadine just barely touched out Britta Kamrau in 1:00:21.8 vs. 1:00:22.4.

All four will be representing Germany at the 2009 World Swimming Championships in the 5K with Thomas doubling-up in the 5K and 10K as he has done over the last several years.

Photo by Giorgio Scalia.

Rivalry Renewed In The Bodensee

The upcoming German National Open Water Swimming Championships will be held in Bodensee (Lake Constance in English) where the water is expected to be 18.4°C (65°F).

The 5K, 10K and 25K events will serve as the qualification races for the 2009 World Swimming Championships where the water temperature is expected to be around 26°C (78.8°F).

Bodensee lies in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the base of the alps at 395 meters (1,295 feet) above sea level. Central Europe's third largest lake, it is feed by the Rhine flows into it from the south.

The German Championships will feature another chapter in the long-running rivalry between Britta Kamrau and Angela Maurer.

Angela, who got a close fourth in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing is an early riser - not a surprise as she is a 33-year-old with a four-year-old son. Besides world champion Britta (shown on left), Angela will also face tough competitors in Nadine Pastor and Stefanie Biller in the 10K and 25K races.

Upper photo by Giorgio Scalia shows Thomas Lurz, Britta Kamrau and Wolfgarten at the 2008 European Open Water Swimming Championships. Lower photo of Britta Kamrau is by Lucas Dawson of Getty Images Sport.

German Selection Meet for the World Championships

The German Open Water Swimming Championships will double as the Germany's qualification races for the 5K, 10K and 25K distances at the 2009 World Swimming Championships in Rome. The qualification races will be held in the Bodensee near Lindau in June.

Alexander Studzinski, winner of February's FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in Argentina, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame honoree Britta Kamrau, Nadine Pastor, Olympic 10K Marathon Swim bronze medalist Thomas Lurz and others will be battling it out to represent their country.

For others who wish to enjoy a less competitive environment and fields in Germany, Strausseeschwimmen offers information on open water swims, some of which have been held since 1925.

Photo from Strausseeschwimmen.

12 Olympians at the Midmar Mile = Amazing Photo Finish

Both the men's and women's headliner races in the world's biggest open water swim, the 36th Halfway Telkom Midmar Mile came down to the finish as 12 Olympians and 17,000+ swimmers took to open water swimming's most famous dam.




Olympic 10K Marathon Swim silver medalist Keri-Anne Payne won her fourth consecutive Midmar Mile in 18:48, 3 seconds over Nadine Pastor from Germany who swam her fourth race in four days (including a 10K on Thursday and 5K on Friday).

Hungarian Evelyn Verralzto was third, South African Melissa Corfe fourth, Britain's Cassandra Patten fifth, Britain’s Alice McCall sixth, South African Bianca Meyer seventh and Britian's Charlotte Wooliscroft. Nadine Pastor, a first-time Midmar Mile competitor, said after the race, "Honestly, I've never seen anything like it: the number of swimmers, the crowds, the organisation, and the beautiful setting."

The men's race was called only after race officials confirmed with race footage because the top finishers were so close. South African Riaan Schoeman forged ahead over the first 400 meters to forfeit the lead to Chad Ho and Hungarian David Verraszto for the next 800 meters. Defending champion Shaun Dias swam over the wrong course and was not a factor this year.

Germany’s Christian Reichert and Belgium’s Brian Ryckeman tried to surge at the end, but Schoeman and Verraszto sprinted ahead of the stellar field and both stood up to run over the finish line together. Schoeman and Verraszto could not have been closer together if they tried.

After checking and re-checking the videos and film for 45 minutes, the race officials awarded Schoeman the victory over Verraszto in 17:34 with Ho in third a second later, Reichert 2 seconds later and Ryckeman 5 seconds later. Defending champion Shaun Dias finished in seventh spot.

Schoeman summed up the race, "A few of us broke away and it turned out to be a sprint finish, it was really good."

Sam Greetham, a 2008 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year nominee, once described the Midmar Mile in majestic terms, "Nothing I have seen comes anywhere near the Midmar Mile. Both in terms of the number of participants, tip-top organization, security and safety aspects, and the interaction between the participants and the public."

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Olympians Headline Midmar Mile 10K

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim athletes took part in the world's biggest open water swim, the Midmar Mile in South Africa including a full contingent of British stars headlined by Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten, and defending champion Chad Ho of South Africa and Hungarian Csaba Gercsak.

In the 10K Midmar Mile Long-Distance race, a prelude to the Halfway Telkom Midmar Mile, Christian Reichert of Germany won in 2:01:18, beating Belgium's Brian Ryckeman (shown above) by 18 seconds. Ryckeman was 7th in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, but could not catch the blazing Reichert under difficult conditions.

Nadine Pastor of Germany, who recently place third in the first leg of the 2009 FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup in Brazil, kept up with the leading men for the first 5K and comfortably won the women’s race comfortably.

Midmar Mile 10K Top 10 Results
1. Christiaan Reichert (Germany) 2:01:18.1
2. Brian Ryckeman (Belgium) 2:01:36.1
3. Tyrone Venter (South Africa) 2:04:49.2
4. Nadine Pastor (Germany) 2:05:35.1
5. Charlotte Woolenscroft (Great Britain) 2:07:11.6
6. Alice McCall (Great Britain) 2:16:28.7
7. Belinda Van der Merwe (Great Britain) 2:51:36.1
8. Nadia Bacchini (South Africa) 2:57:15.2
9. Ingrid Kruger (South Africa) 2:57:15.2
10. Devon Thomson (South Africa) 3:08:09.4

Copyright © 2009 by Open Water Source