Defending the Home Surf

One of the best national open water teams in the world is Italy. Italy has a great mix of proven veterans like Valerio Cleri and strong up-and-comers like Rachele Bruni (shown on left) who compete under the guidance of national team coach Massimo Giuliani.

Over the year, many of Italy's best open water swimmers have grown up swimming along the shorelines of their country, including Marco Formentini. After the 2001 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka where he medaled, Japan, Marco said, "We knew we had an edge racing in the sea rather than in a river or a lake".

His teammate Luca Baldini added, "The sea was a bit rough; under those conditions I knew that I would have to get away very fast and be in the lead. Those behind you catch more waves."

One of the great female Italian swimmers of the past was Viola Valli (shown on left after winning the world 25K race) who often went all out from the start and held on for the finish. "I've told myself: 'I have to bring them (her opponents) to hell and leave them there.' I knew I should swim at a pace they couldn't keep up. I was succesful although I happened to nearly go to hell myself."

At the upcoming World Swimming Championships in Rome, the Italians will be competing on their home surf. Like the tough Russian Open Water National Championships in the Black Sea in June, Italy will also hold very competition World Swimming Championships qualification races in June.

The winners of the 5K, 10K and 25K races will automatically qualify for the Italian team while a second swimmer for each event will be selected by Coach Giuliani with the advice of the national technical staff.

The Italian national championships and world championship qualification races include the 5K race in Piombino on June 7th, the 10K race in Lerici on June 2nd and the 25K race in Formia on June 14th. The Italians also hold additional national championships including the 3-5K race in Milan on June 21 and the individual 5K time trial in Trasimeno Lake on June 28th.

Photos of the Italian team from the 2008 European Open Water Swimming Championships by Giorgio Scala.

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

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.