Bronze Medalist Going For Gold in the Bay

Olympic 10K bronze medalist Thomas Lurz reflected on his Olympic performance in Beijing before the upcoming Tiburon Mile in San Francisco Bay.

"I felt good on every loop," said Lurz of the four-loop course in Beijing. "The average speed was fast so that was good. Around the last turn buoy, I was thinking, 'Now the race really begins'. The finish was a little hard to see and David Davies and I went to the right. Maarten [van der Weijden] had a straight line and swam well. We gave everything. I am happy to medal."

When asked what the future holds, Lurz replied, "I am 28 [years old) so we will see what will come in the future."

After the Olympics, Lurz swam at the European Open Water Swimming Championships in Croatia and the Great North Swim before arriving in San Francisco for the RCP Tiburon Mile. "I am looking forward to this event, but also to looking for a break soon."

"The RCP Tiburon Mile is a very nice and interesting race. A 1-mile swim is short. Because it is only one mile, the pool swimmers will be fast. If the race was longer, the open water swimmers would have an advantage. It will be a good race."

Photo of Thomas Lurz after his 10K victory at the European Open Water Swimming Championships taken by Giorgio Scala of Deep Blue Media.

Open Water Swimming from the Sea and Sky

Some beautiful and illustrative open water photographs were taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia at the European Open Water Championships in Croatia this month.

The photo to the left shows the men going around a turn buoy in the 10K race eventually won by Thomas Lurz of Germany.





Using a helicopter over the venue, a skiff at sea level and scuba gear for underwater shots, Scala did a masterful wonderful job documenting the swimmers from all angles before, during and after the 5K solo trial races, the 5K team trial race, 10K races and the 25K races.

In the photos, especially the underwater shots, one can see the importance of drafting and positioning throughout the swim. As Olympic gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko said after her 10K victory, "...I was hit from right and left. I rarely took as many hits to my body as today. At the end I possibly benefitted from my experience."

17-year-old Alice Franco of Italy who won bronze medals in the 5K and 10K races said, "Of course it is better to follow other swimmers, but today I desperately wanted a second medal and that’s why I led the field for most of the time. Two medals in two races - that’s simply fantastic."

All photos by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

European Swimmers of the Meet Honors

Edith van Dijk and Thomas Lurz won Swimmer of the Meet honors at the recently concluded 2008 European Open Water Swimming Championships in Croatia.

It was a fitting tribute to the 35-year-old van Dijk after an illustrious career dating back to 1993. van Dijk and Lurz were given an OMEGA watch. OMEGA is one of LEN's sponsors and suppliers.

van Dijk narrowly missed a medal in all three individual events (5K, 10K and 25K) finishing fourth in all three.

Lurz immeadiately left for Lake Windermere in England to participate in the Great North Swim) after winning to the 10K and 2 bronze medals in the 5K time trial and 5K team event in Croatia.

In the team standings, Italy won with 182 points followed by Russia (176), Germany (154), Spain (132), Netherlands (94) and France (69).

Photos of Edith van Dijk (with daughter) and Italy's victorious open water swimming team taken by Giorgio Scala of Deep Blue Media.

Handing Over the Reins to the Next Generation

After a wonderful week of competition in Croatia, including new 5K time trials, the weather turned on the female 25K swimmers leading the LEN organizers to move the original 25K course in the Bay (see photo on left) to a more sheltered alternative 5K course in Dubrovacka Bay (see course below) on late Saturday evening.

But conditions were still rough.

Britta Kamrau-Corestein of Germany who finished strongly to capture silver in 5:39:00.2 said, "I wanted to give up after two laps because the water was so cold. When the leading group increased the pace at the last turn, I mentally said goodbye to the leaders and thought I missed it. I can’t believe that I did enough for winning silver. That’s a great conclusion of the European Championships for me."

Russia's Anna Uvarova who outsprinted Italy's Martina Grimaldi and the Netherlands' Edith van Dijk for bronze in 5:39:06.6 said, "The water was terribly cold and it was very windy. It was my tactics to swim four laps together with the leading group and then increase the pace. The tactics were right, because I’m not really a 25K swimmer, it’s simply too long for me."

van Dijk's customary position on the awards podium was taken by newcomer Margarita Dominguez of Spain who won in 5:38:35.3sec. "It was my first-ever 25K race. I prefer the circuit-type race course. When I saw the men’s 25K course, I really was a bit scared. At the last turn we were a group of three, Grimaldi, van Dijk and myself. I managed to accelerate about 800 meters from the finish line and kept my lead."

Grimaldi and van Dijk were timed together in 5:39:18.0. As a tribute to her outstanding performances, van Dijk, who was awarded the Best Swimmer of the Competition by LEN. van Dijk finished fourth for the third time in the European Open Water Swimming Championships. In the 5K race, the 10K race and today's 25K race, van Dijk finished fourth each time. A remarkable achievement for a remarkable athlete and mother.

Try Try Again

27-year-old Valerio Cleri of Italy has always been competitive on the world's stage, from his 4th place in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim to a silver medal in the 10K at the 2006 World Open Water Swimming Championships, but he has never stood on top of the awards podium despite a long career of competing against the world's best.

Cleri finally achieved a gold medal performance in the 25K at the European Open Water Swimming Championships in dominating fashion. He won with a nearly 4-minute victory over Frances' Joanes Hedeal, Russia's Dmitry Solovyev and 13 other competitors.

Cleri won in 4 hour 29 minute time, over 30 minutes faster than most world championhip 25K races. Either the course was short or the swimmers greatly benefitted from the strong winds at their back on the first half of the course. But, like most marathon swims, the swimmers were bound to face some natural obstacles when oncoming waves picked up and a torrential rain slowed the field during the second part of the course.

"This was my first ever international 25K competition. After winning the European title, I shall certainly focus more on the 25K in the future. My tactics were to stay among the leading group in the first half and to attack and throw my competitors off on the return half. The waves on the last part suited me well, because they do not bother me at all," said Cleri.

Relative newcomer Hedel, who finished second in 4:32:40.9, said, "The way out to the turning buoy was quite okay, but as soon as we came back we had to fight the waves. It was really very difficult to get back to the finish line. At about 15K, I attacked and since then I was on my own. It was a true solo effort. I even didn’t know my position. Only at the arrival I saw that I was second. I’m a beginner, this is just the third 25km competition in my life."

Bronze medalist Solovyev said, "Third place is a great surprise to me. I would never have reckoned to win a medal here. Particularly towards the end of the race the conditions were very tough. You could almost lose orientation in the three to four metres high waves. But fortunately I didn’t."

All sky-view photos of the pack taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

From IJseselmeermarathon to Motherhood and Beijing

Edith van Dijk will officially retire from competitive swimming on Sunday after the 25K race at the European Open Water Swimming Championships in Croatia.

Back in 2005 after the most dominating performance at a FINA world championships where she won a gold in the 25K, a gold in the 10K and a bronze in the 5K, Edith retired for the first time - because she was pregnant. But, after giving birth to her daughter Rosanna and learning that open water swimming was added to the Olympics, Edith returned. "The Olympics hold much attraction for me," she said before finishing a respectible 14th in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing.

After her first marathon swim in the famous IJsselmeermarathon swim in Holland in 1990, she became a force on the professional marathon swimming circuit from 1993 to her dominating performance in the 2005 World Swimming Championships in Montreal.

Along the way, she crossed the English Channel, appeared in an Argentinian documentary where she played herself, obtained a Doctorate in Economy from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and was selected as the Dutch Sport Female of the Year in 2005.

We'll certainly miss this great athlete who has always presented herself with a wonderful mix of elegance, intelligence, respect for the sport and her competitors and a world-class competitive spirit.

Photo of Edith and her daughter on the 25K awards podium at the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Seville. Photo taken by Javier Blazquez.

European Team Trial Championships

In an much anticipated race between Russia, Germany, Italy and 18 European All-Star teams, Italy won the 5K time trial team event at European Open Water Championships. Rachele Bruni, the women’s 5K champion, teamed up with Luca Ferretti and Andrea Volpini to finish in 56:17.5 in the team event.

Bruni, Ferretti and Volpini, like all the other teams, started together and were timed when the last swimmer crossed the finish. The Russian team of Evgeny Drattsev, Daniil Serebrennikov and Ekaterina Seliverstova finished second in 57:03.6, ahead of Germany with Thomas Lurz, Jan Wolfgarten and Britta Kamrau-Corestein who finished in 57:30.0.

"This was a fantastic race. Rachele Bruni is the toughest fighter I’ve ever met. The team trial is a great race because you have to swim as a team and not as an individual. It’s like the relays in the pool," said Volpini. His teammate Ferretti agreed, "The future belongs to Rachele Bruni..."

Bruni swam a 58:50.7 as an individual in the women's 5K, but she swam 2 minutes and 33 seconds faster drafting and pacing with her two male teammates.

Kamrau-Corestein also enjoyed the new format on the European stage, "We still have to gain some experience in this new event, then we might do even better. But we are happy with the bronze medal. The event is a good idea that leads the sport in the right direction." Kamrau-Corestein swam 59:16.1 as an individual and a 57:30.0 as a member of a 3-person team.

Serebrennikov of Russia said, “I liked the concept of the race very much. It is interesting, and you could even say it’s funny. I hope LEN will keep it for the next championships. On the other side, it’s the third event within three days, and it has taken its toll on me.”

Upper photo of Italy's victorious team of Ferretti, Bruni and Volpini taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Middle photo of Franco and Bruni after the individual 5K race taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo of Russian, Italian and Germans teams on the awards stand by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Greek Victory in the Men's 5K Time Trial

Spyridon Gianniotis, a Greek soldier by profession, won his most important battle to date when he captured his first European Open Water Swimming title in the men’s 5K time trial event. Gianniotis, who finished 12th in the 1500-meter freestyle in the pool and 16th in the 10K race in Beijing and finaled in both the 400 and 1500 in the 2004 Athens Olympics, used his speed to dominate the competition. Gianniotis finished in 52:57.2, nearly 1 minute ahead of Germany's Jan Wolfgarten (53:55.7) and Thomas Lurz (54:04.3).

Gianniotis, who was near the lead with David Davies towards the end of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing said, "As a former pool swimmer, the time trial format suits me very well. I led for a long time in yesterday’s 10K race, while the others behind me saved their strength and overtook me at the end. However, I shall continue to compete in both the 5km time trial and the 10km events."

Jan Wolfgarten, who swam in his first-ever international open water swimming event expressed his gratitude for his German teammate, "It was a big problem to swim against the sun on the way back to the finish. I hardly cold see anything. In between I almost panicked because I thought I had missed a buoy, but luckily it then appeared. The silver medal is fantastic at my first ever participation in a major international open water swimming event. Of course I benefit a lot from practising together with Thomas Lurz who gives me valuable advice. Now I may think about the 2012 Olympics."

Lurz, who won the 10K the previous day, graciously recalled "I could still feel yesterday’s race in my bones and the after-effects from the Olympics because I reduced training after Beijing. Considering this, I’m very happy with the bronze medal, and congratulate the two competitors ahead of me. Spiridon in particular really deserved to finally win a title. He did a lot in many competitions this year."

Upper photo of Spyridon Gianniotis taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Middle photo shows last turn buoy of the men's 5K time trial, taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo shows Luca Ferretti of Italy at the starting pontonn, taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Time Trial Format

Flavio Bomio, the Chairman of the LEN Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, summed up the new 5K time trial format at the European Open Water Championships best, "You simply have to swim at full speed from start to finish."

"We had to do something to save the 5K event, because both the 5km and the 10km have always been tactical races which were decided in a sprint finish. There can’t be any tactical moves in 5km time trial," explained Bomio.

Like cycling, the swimmers start in 1-minute intervals from the starting pontoon (see photo above) in the 5K solo race.

In the team trial event, 18 three-person teams also start in 1-minute intervals. The time of the last of the 3 swimmers at the finish determines the team's official time. Each team must have at least one woman and will start together. "Most of the time there will be two men who have the task to push the woman to the fastest possible time," predicts 10K champion Thomas Lurz of Germany. "The third individual time is valid for the ranking. So the team has to work and to swim together," reiterated Bomio.

The initial response from the swimmers seems quite positive. "This is a fantastic start to these European Championships for Italy. I like this new time trial format very much, because you are swimming alone and have to do your own race and to decide the correct route by yourself," said 5K bronze medalist Alice Franco of Italy.

Upper photo shows start of women's 5K time trial, taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo shows Flavio Bomio of the LEN Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Trademark Finish Seals Another Gold for Ilchenko

Just like the World Championships in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the Beijing Olympics, Larisa Ilchenko of Russia came barreling down the finish to win another major international championship in an exciting finish.

19-year-old Ilchenko won the 10K at the European Open Water Championships in 2:00:30.9 in Croatia, just barely outgunning two Italians: Martina Grimaldi in 2:00:31.4 and Alice Franco in 2:00:32.2.

"After eight World titles and my Olympic gold medal in Beijing, I saw it as an obligation to win my first ever European title today," said Ilchenko who complained about the aggressive tactics of her competitors. "However, it was a horrible race because I was hit from right and left. I rarely took as many hits to my body as today. At the end I possibly benefitted from my experience."

Grimaldi similarly saw a silver lining, "For 9K, I was swimming in the middle of the leading pack. Towards the end I moved to the front, and after the last buoy I forced myself in between Ilchenko and Franco for the final sprint. I sprinted well to win the silver. I’m only half a second behind Ilchenko, so maybe next time I’ll beat her."

Alice Franco, who won the bronze in the 5K yesterday, won another bronze medal after leading most of the race. "Of course it is better to follow other swimmers, but today I desperately wanted a second medal and that’s why I led the field for most of the time. Two medals in two races - that’s simply fantastic."

Men's 5K time trial race is later today.

Upper photo shows Larisa Ilchenko after the 10K. Photo by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo shows Ilchenko (left), Grimaldi (middle) and Franco (right) leading the pack and battling towards the finish. Photo taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lurz Wins 10K at European Championships

After taking control of the race 1500 meters from the finish, Thomas Lurz of Germany outsprinted Evgeny Drattsev of Russia to win the men's 10K at the European Open Water Championships. Lurz, the Olympic 10K bronze medalist, won in 1:52:48.9, 1.7 seconds ahead of Drattsev. Toni Franz of Germany finished in 1:52:53.0 in a photo finish against Israel’s Michael Dmitriev.

Lurz added to his collection of gold medals as the 6-time world champion. "It was difficult to motivate myself for the European [Championships] after the Olympics, but other swimmers had the same problem," said Lurz who is coached by his brother. "The race turned out as expected for me. I let the others make the pace at first, and then took over the initiative on the last 1500 metres, protecting my lead into the finish."

The race began calmly enough (see start photo at left), but ended up in a frantic sprint towards the end. Drattsev described the race as, "My tactics was to stay with the top group on the first lap, and thereafter to push to the lead. But the group kept close together. Unfortunately I had to swim the complete race without taking any drink or food."

Upper photo of Thomas Lurz swimming towards finish pads taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo of men's lead pack in the beginning of the race in the Adriatic Sea taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

European 5K Champion in New Format

Rachele Bruni of Italy handily won the women's 5K in 58:50.7 in the new racing fomat at the European Open Water Championships over Germany's Britta Kamrau-Corestein (59:16.1) and Italy's Alice Franco (59:30.0).

The 17-year-old Bruni is a 2-time European junior bronze medallist (in 2007 and 2008). "I was confident to finish among the top six. We have especially trained for this event. I especially prepared for this time trial event. We trained three times a week in the sea, each swimmer on his own. I was confident that I would finish among the top six."

Silver medalist Britta Kamrau-Corestein was also pleased with the new system where swimmers start one minute apart. "It was a lot of fun. The time trial is still a bit unusual, but it was a lot of fun and finished with a great success for me at my first ever participation in such a racing system. I was positively excited before the race, and the waiting for the others to finish also was nerve-racking. I could hardly see anything swimming against the sun on the first 2.5K to the turning buoy. But by then I had already caught up with Nadine Pastor who then supported me on the last leg to the finish."

The 35-year-old Edith van Dijk finished fourth in 1:00:7.3 and announced her retirement from the elite racing. "These Championships are definitely my last. I’ll retire from high-performance sport after Dubrovnik."

Because the swimmers started separately, aggressive pack swimming was not an issue. "This is a fantastic start to these European Championships for Italy. I like this new time trial format very much, because you are swimming alone and have to do your own race and to decide the correct route by yourself," said bronze medalist Franco.

Upper photo of Alice Franco (left) and Rachele Bruni (right) taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

Lower photo of Jana Pechanova of the Czech Republic as she dives into the Old Harbor of Dubrovnik taken by Giorgio Scala of Deepbluemedia.

European Open Water Swimming Championships

111 top swimmers from 22 countries (Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine) will compete in this week's 11th European Open Water Championships in Dubrovnik, Croatia from September 9-14.

"It seems as if September is a good time for a European Championship," said LEN Secretary Sven-Egil Folvik at the opening press conference in Dubrovnik’s City Hall on Monday.

The 5K race will be held for the first time as a time trial. As in cycling, the swimmers will start in one minute intervals. "We had to do something to save the 5K event, because both the 5K and the 10K have always been tactical races which were decided in a sprint finish. There can’t be any tactical moves in 5K time trial. You simply have to swim at full speed from start to finish," explained Swiss Flavio Bomio, the Chairman of the LEN Technical Open Water Swimming Committee.

The 5K team event will also make its debut in Dubrovnik. Each of the 18 national teams will consist of three athletes, either two men and one woman or two women and one man. The teams will also start in 1-minute intervals. "The 3rd individual time is valid for the ranking. So the team has to work and to swim together," said Bomio.

The European Open Water Championships include 10K and 25K races with many Olympic 10K swimmers also participating, including gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko and bronze medalists Thomas Lurz of Germany and Cassandra Patten of England, and multiple-time world champion Edith van Dijk.

Thomas Lurz has won 6 world titles and will try to retain his 2006 title in the 10K. Tough competitors will come from Russia's Evgeny Drattsev (5th in the Olympic 10K) and Yuri Koudinov, Italy’s Valerio Cleri (4th in Beijing) and Simone Ercoli, as well as Greece’s Spyridon Giannitios and Bulgaria's Petar Stoychev.

The schedule is as follows:
September 9th: women's 5K (10 am start time) and the men's 10K (4 pm start time).
September 10th: women's 10K and the men's 5K (both start at 10 am).
September 11th: team 5K.
September 12th: open forum for managers, coaches, swimmers, officials and Technical Open Water Swimming Committee members.
September 13th: men's 25K.
September 14th: women's 25K.