FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix Rankings

After eight grueling FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix events conducted this year in Santa Fe (Argentina), Rosario (Argentina), Viedma (Argentina), Sumidero Canyon (Mexico), Napoli (Italy), Lake Ohrid (Macedonia), Lac St-Jean (Canada) and Lac Memphremagog (Canada), with one more marathon to go in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), the top 10 professional marathon female swimmers is as follows:

1. Camilla Frediani (Italy) - 95 points (shown above)
2. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) - 88
3. Britta Kamrau (Germany) - 61
4. Marianela Mendoza (Argentina) - 55
5. Esther Nunez (Spain) - 48
6. Anna Uvarova (Russia) - 47
7. Noelia Petti (Argentina) - 42
8. Aurelie Cote (Canada) - 18
9. Laura Volpi (Italy) - 18
10. Cecilia Biagioli (Argentina) - 16
10. Angela Maurer (Germany) - 16
10. Matalya Pankina (Russia) - 16

Sabac Pro Race Cancelled

As the number of amateur open water races increases, the number of opportunities for the professional marathon swimmers around the world continues to decrease.

Unfortunately, the cancellation of another pro marathon swim was announced today by FINA and the Swimming Federation of Serbia.

The 19K FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race in Sabac, Serbia, with its four-decade history, was scheduled for July 12th. This year alone, the proposed pro races in the English Channel, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Long Beach (California) and Sabac have been postponed for various reasons.

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.

Swimming Through Santa Fe

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

The 36th annual 57K (35.4 mile) Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda, the first race on the 2009 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit, announced 23 professional marathon swimmers will participate in a highly anticipated and extremely competitive race on Argentina.


Among the male swimmers, 8-time Grand Prix champion and 6:57 English Channel swimmer Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria will face home country favorite Damian Blaum and a stellar field.



German Stefanie Biller, who trains in England, and Spaniard Esther Núñez (shown below) will battle Russian Natalya Pankina, the 2008 Grand Prix champion and a 8:11 English Channel swimmer, and Germans Angela Maurer and Britta Kamrau. Angela has won this race once before and Britta (shown below) has won it twice.

The race course is interesting as the swimmers end the swim by swimming against the oncoming river current and then finishes with 6 loops of a triangular circuit in front of the cheering spectators.

Other male swimmers in the field include Gabriel Villagoiz (Argentina), Guillermo Bértola (Argentina), Alexander Studzinski (Germany), Kerin Rok (Slovenia), Daniel Katzier (Israel), Andrea Volpini (Italy). Rodolfo Valenti (Italy), Andrea Bondanini (Italy), Tomi Stefanovsky (fruit Salad), Rostislav Vitek (Czech Republic) and Libor Smolka (Czech Republic).

Other female swimmers in the field include Noelia Petti (Argentina), Pilar Geijo (Argentina), Marianella Mendoza (Argentina), Rita Garcia (Argentina), Linsy Heister (Holland) and Stretcher Frediani (Italy).




Upper photo of swimmers passing under bridge is from Marea-Roja. Middle photo by AFP shows Damian Blaum with Mark Warkentin walking past Russia's Evgeny Drattsev on left, Damian Blaum drinking and Hungary's Csaba Gercsak on right before the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim. Lower photo of Esther Nunez by El Depornauta. Lower photo of Britta Kamrau by Heiner Köpcke.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

You've Got a Point There

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

John Kinsella in the 1970’s, Paul Asmuth in the 1980’s, Shelley Taylor-Smith in the 1990’s and Petar Stoychev most recently dominated the professional marathon swimming circuits in their era.

Each of these athletes was crowned champion based on a point system. The swimmers were awarded points based on their finish at each race. During the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s, the athletes swam under a point system sanctioned by the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation.

The point system used was the brainchild of Edward Nichterlein, a former statistician of the National Football League. Edward worked out a rather complicated method of scoring finishers that analyzed various elements of marathon swim racing.

Several categories of scoring were established. First, finishing positions were rewarded on the basis of 500 points for the winner, 350 for his runner-up, 250 for the third-placer, 150 for fourth position, 125 for fifth, 100 for sixth, 95 for seventh, and five points less for each succeeding slot down to 25th place.

Comparative times were also taken into consideration, and the race winner’s time was rated at 100 (later 300) points, with one point subtracted from the scores of those following him to the finish line for each minute longer they took to arrive there.

Then, since races were held over varying distances, each finisher was awarded five points per mile for the length of the course. For example, finishers in a 20-mile race received 100 points, while those who completed a 10-mile race received 50 points, in addition to their scores for placement and finish times.

A bonus of 100 points was also awarded to swimmers who lowered the established course record.

Men and women were scored separately, but on the same basis. The first woman to finish, even if she was sixth overall, was considered the woman’s winner and received 500 points for “first place’” 100 points for her time and, of course, the distance points. This meant that a man following her to the finish line, although seventh in the overall race standings, was considered sixth in the men’s point standings toward the championship.

Currently, FINA uses two much simpler point systems: one for the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix (for races longer than 10K) and one for the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup.

In each FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race, points are awarded depending upon overall finishing position. The Grand Prix points are different based on the total prize money offered by the race director.

For FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix races that offer total cash prizes more than US$25,000, the points are as follows:

1st is 25 points
2nd is 19 points
3rd is 16 points
4th is 13 points
5th is 11 points
6th is 9 points
7th is 7 points
8th is 5 points

All other finishers of the race receive 4 points.

For FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix races that offer total cash prizes between US$10,000 and US$24,999, the points are as follows:

1st is 20 points
2nd is 16 points
3rd is 14 points
4th is 12 points
5th is 10 points
6th is 8 points
7th is 6 points
8th is 5 points

All other finishers of the race receive 3 points.

For FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix races that offer total cash prizes between US$10,000 and US$19,999, the points are as follows:

1st is 15 points
2nd is 11 points
3rd is 9 points
4th is 7 points
5th is 6 points
6th is 5 points
7th is 4 points
8th is 3 points

All other finishers of the race receive 2 points.

For the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup races, the points are as follows:

1st is 20 points
2nd is 18 points
3rd is 16 points
4th is 14 points
5th is 12 points
6th is 10 points
7th is 8 points
8th is 6 points
9th is 4 points
10th is 3 points

All other finishers of the race receive 2 points.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

An Amazing 8-Year Run in the Water

Petar Stoychev had another great year in 2008. Similar to 2007…and 2006…and 2005…and 2004…and 2003…and 2002…and 2001 when he also dominated the professional marathon swimming circuit. For 8 years, Petar has remained on top of the pro swimmer food chain…an extraordinarily remarkable run, especially when one considers how many strong swimmers have entered the sport over the last 8 years.



For his unprecedented exploits and continued engaging presence in dozens of professional swims around the world, Petar was nominated for the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year.

During the Olympic year when his top competition was focusing on the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, Petar forged ahead with his usual whirlwind schedule of races from Europe to Asia and from North America to South America, competing in all kinds of races and representing Bulgaria both in the pool (15:28 in the 1500-meter freestyle) and in the open water (where he placed sixth in the 10K). Petar ran away with the overall 2008 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix title, winning six races out of nine on the pro circuit.

Petar's string of dominance has only been approached by such renowned pro swimmers such as John Kinsella (in the 1970's), Paul Asmuth (in the 1980's) and Shelley Taylor-Smith (in the 1990's). The English Channel record holder won the 57K Maraton Acuatica Rio Coronda (Argentina) Grand Prix, the 15K Maraton Acuatico International Ciudad Rosario (Argentina) Grand Prix, the 15K Maraton Patagones Viedma (Argentina) FINA Grand Prix, the 30K Ohrid Lake Swim Marathon (Macedonia) FINA Grand Prix, the 32K Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean (Canada) FINA Grand Prix, the 34K Traversée Internationale du Lac Memphrémagog (Canada) FINA Grand Prix, was second in the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup in Lac St-Jean (Canada) and was fifth in the 19K Sabac Swim Marathon (Serbia) FINA Grand Prix. No one has swum further than Petar in tough world-class races this year and his selection as the Bulgarian flag-bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was another well-deserved honor he received in 2008.

Pool…pro marathon races…or solo English Channel crossings, Petar is a remarkable swimmer and a fierce competitor who remains positive and philosophical when discussing the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim and the English Channel.

"I will always be the first man to complete the Channel in under 7 hours," said Stoychev as he talked about swimming the 1500-meter freestyle and the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim before the Beijing Olympics. "If I do not get a gold medal or place in the top 3 at the Olympics, then no one will remember me. In some ways, the Olympics require some luck because it is a race that happens only once every four years...but people always remember the English Channel."

"Continuing my career will depend on my results at the Olympics," continued Stoychev. "I have a 3-month-old daughter now and I must work for my family. Ultimately, I want to become a member of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and work to develop marathon swimming around the world. Back in 1993, I did my first race. I wanted to have a chance to travel all around the world and meet different people. I have been to beautiful and exotic places because of marathon swimming. When I studied geography in school, I could never imagine that I would be able to travel to places like Canada, England and Asia."

Petar’s story of his record-breaking English Channel crossing, piloted by Michael Oram, was covered worldwide. The back story is interesting and is typical of Petar’s competitive nature.

For his exploits in 2008, we honor Petar as a nominee for the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year.

Photos by Pei Qingsheng.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Color Me Green

Paul Hopfensperger is an accomplished English Channel swimmer who has competed in several FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix races from Mexico to Serbia.





Paul has a great blog with an abundance of photographs and personal observations that bring you inside the world of professional marathon swimming. His site is regularly enjoyed by tens of thousands of people from 112 countries.



Paul is on his way to raise £50,000 for two charities as a result of his English Channel crossing. His blog follows his charitable and professional open water swimming adventures around the world.

Photos are only a few from Paul's colorful blog.

Open Water Swimming Rules and Regulations Posted

FINA posted its rules and regulations for the 2009 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix and the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuits. The Grand Prix and World Cup rules are located here.

The 2009 FINA open water swimming calendar is still being finalized.

Photo of Larisa Ilchenko at the Singapore leg of the 2008 FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit from the organizing committee.

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.

The Longest Race in the World

The FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix traditionally kicks off its season in Argentina with a series of races in Argentina. Santa Fe, Rosario, and Viedma are held in February on back-to-back weekends.

Another one is these early FINA Grand Prix races is the 88K (54.6 miles) Hernandarias-Parana race, known as the longest professional race in the world.

Erica Rose, who finished 3rd in 9 hours 40 minutes in 2007 and 6th in 10:05 2005 in the Hernandarias-Parana, says, "The race itself is incredible. It is challenging, for sure. There are some points when the river is narrow and you feel like you're moving quickly, but there are other points where you can't see either bank of the river at all and you have no idea where you are or if your rowers are taking you in the right direction."

"The people in Parana and Hernandarias are amazing. They get so excited about the marathon that they celebrate the week leading into it and line the banks of the river when you're swimming. They're incredibly supportive of the swimmers and treat us like celebrities."

Photo of Erica swimming in the Hernandarias-Parana race.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Mexican Open Water Natural Beauty

The last race on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit takes place in Chiapas, Mexico on October 18th. This extraordinary 15K race cuts through the incredibly scenic Sumidero Canyon (Cañon Sumidero) along the Grijalva River.



The race ends at the Chicoasen hydroelectric dam. The swimmers are treated to a spectacular journey along the serene river with the canyon walls towering above them inside a Ecological Park. Despite the serenity of the park, the racing between the pro swimmers has traditionally been competitive and exciting. As the last race on the annual FINA circuit, FINA Grand Prix points and rankings are up for grabs, creating a great competition.




The week before the Sumidero 15K FINA Grand Prix, the last FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup is held in Cancun, Mexico on October 11th. Race Director Omar Diaz organizes both races on behalf of the Federacion Mexicana de Natacion and FINA. The host hotel is the beautiful Oasis Palm Beach hotel.

After a long professional marathon swim season that began in Brazil, traversed to Argentina, Italy, Dubai, Portugal, Serbia, Macedonia, Canada, Seville, Hong Kong and Singapore, with a brief Olympic stop in Beijing, the circuit ends with two beautiful swims in Mexico.

Photos by Dr. Jim Miller.

FINA Approval of New World Cup Cities

The 2008 FINA Bureau Meeting told place in Beijing during the Olympics. Various decisions were made including the approval of 2 new National Federations: Afghanistan and British Virgin Islands. The total number of FINA Federations is now 197.

Additionally, the calendar of the 2009 FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup and the 2009 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix were approved.

This calendar includes two new World Cup events in the U.S. One in Long Beach, California and one in Manhattan, New York.

The Long Beach event is being organized by Olympic pole vault champion Bob Seagren and his event management team at International City Racing. The Manhattan event is being organized by Morty Berger and his colleagues at the Manhattan Island Foundation.

FINA also announced that 164 countries sent 1,043 pool swimmers, 50 open water swimmers, 145 divers, 104 synchronized swimmers and 260 water polo players to the Beijing Olympics.

Photo of Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

FINA Sanctions Stoychev and Gomez

After winner Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria and third-place Stephane Gomez of France got into a post-race argument after the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in Ohrid Lake, Macedonia on July 7th, FINA investigated the situation that got playing time on YouTube (see below).

In accordance with FINA Rule C 12.2, FINA executives imposed a sanction with a warning to both Stoychev and Gomez. The decision is subject to appeal in accordance with FINA Rule C 12.9.1.



Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Pro Open Water Swims

With its new Olympic status, the sport of open water swimming is increasing in popularity and awareness. FINA oversees two global open water swimming circuits: the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup and the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix.

The World Cup events are 10 kilometers in distance and the Grand Prix events are longer.

Below is the tentatively proposed 2009 schedule:

January 25: Santos, Brazil (10K World Cup)
February 1: Santa Fe, Argentina (57K Grand Prix)
February 7: Rosario, Argentina (15K Grand Prix)
February 14: Viedma, Argentina (15K Grand Prix)
March 28: Orienta Bay, Wellington, New Zealand (10K World Cup)
April 18: Sumidero Canyon, Mexico (15K Grand Prix)
April 25: Cancun, Mexico (10K World Cup)
June 20: Capri-Napoli, Italy (36K Grand Prix)
June 27: Setubal, Portugal (10K World Cup)
July (TBD): Ohrid Lake, Macedonia (30K Grand Prix)
July 12: Sabac, Serbia (19K Grand Prix)
July 12: Long Beach,California (10K World Cup)
July 23: Lac St-Jean, Canada (10K World Cup)
July 25: Lac St-Jean, Canada (32K Grand Prix)
August 1: Lac Magog, Canada (34K Grand Prix)
August 8: Varna, Bulgaria (10K World Cup)
August 12: Lake Annecy, France (10K World Cup)
August 15: London, Great Britain (10K World Cup)
August 29: Copenhagen, Denmark (10K World Cup)
September 7: Manhatten, New York (10K World Cup)
September 26: Shantou, China (10K World Cup)
October 4: Hong Kong (10K World Cup)
October 11: Singapore (10K World Cup)
October 17: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (10K World Cup)
October 21: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (10K World Cup)
October 25: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (15K Grand Prix)

Photo by Dr. Jim Miller of the Sumidero Canyon pro race in Mexico.

Copyright © 2008 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Petar Stoychev Wins Lac St-Jean Again

Since 1955, Lac St-Jean in Quebec, Canada has drawn the world's best marathon swimmers to compete in the
Traversee internationale du lac St-Jean, also known at the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix.

Petar Stoychev, who was just touched out by Mazen Aziz of Egypt on Thursday in the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup, won overwhelmingly in 7 hours 39 minutes over Brendan Capell of Australia in 7 hours 44 minutes and Simon Tobin of Canada in 7 hours 49 minutes.

Similarly, Natalya Pankina of Russia won easily in 8 hours 36 minutes over second-place Shelley Clark of Australia in 8 hours 37 minutes and third-place finisher Stefanie Biller of Germany in 8 hours 40 minutes.

The water temperature was a mild 66ºF (19ºC), but the winds were a relatively strong 30-40 km/hour.

Photo by Dr. Jim Miller.