Courtesy of Colin Hill, FINA.
All eyes were on the water thermometer during the weeklong 63rd Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean in Quebec, Canada.
Would the water temperature dip under 20°C – offering swimmers the option of using a wetsuit? Or would the water temperature dip up 18°C – requiring the swimmers to wear a wetsuit?
By Thursday, the day of the 10 km FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup, the water temperature was precisely 20°C and no wetsuits would be allowed.
Several Olympians descended upon the Place de la Traverséecer as the knowledgeable local fan base cheered the athletes on at the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup race.
With the water temperature at 20°C, there was no need or opportunity to wear wetsuits under the FINA-mandated rules.
22-year-old Arianna Bridi opened up a 25-second gap between her and the chase pack on the fourth of six loops. She increased her lead to 1 minute with less than 2 km to go. “Yes, I was a little surprised to have created this gap. I thought I’d take as much as that. When my coach told me I was 35 seconds ahead, I accelerated another time to consolidate my lead. I am really happy to win this victory because I was [still] tired from my participation in the 25 km at the FINA World Championships [where she finished third]. I had not recovered totally. I was really exhausted at the end [of her 2 hour 3 minute victory].”
Meanwhile in the chase pack, Brazilian veteran Ana Marcela Cunha demonstrated why she has stood so often on the medal podium. “When I saw Arianna leave, I hesitated. Then I thought I would swim after her, but the others would follow me and I would spend too much energy and they will draft off of me. As I competed in all the open water events at the FINA World Championships a week ago [5 km + 5 km team relay + 10 km + 25 km races]. Then I returned to Brazil and then came [to Quebec] so I did not have the energy to fight.”
Because she knew Samantha Arévalo had the same number of points as she did in the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit, Cunha choose a conservative approach and secured a second place.
63rd Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean 10 km Results
1. Arianna Bridi (ITA 2:03:15.5
2. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) 2:04:24.9
3. Viviane Jungblut (BRA) 2:04:26.4
4. Anna Olasz (HUN) 2:04:42.9
5. Sarah Bosslet (GER) 2:04:43.0
6. Samantha Arévalo Salinas (ECU) 2:04:43.1
7. Julia Arino (ARG) 2:04:44.4
8. Angela Maurer (GER) 2:04:47.5
9. Rachele Bruni (ITA) 2:04:48.4
10. Breanne Siwicki (CAN) 2:05:48.2
11. Eva Fabian (USA) 2:05:52.6
12. Sabryna Lavoie (CAN) 2:06:35.7
13. Daphnée Demers (CAN) 2:09:21.6
14. Anna Mankevich (RUS) 2:09:49.9
15. Vicenia Navarro (VEN) 2:10:37.1
16. Marie-Laurence Lortie (CAN) 2:22:18.3
17. Mia Desjarlais (CAN) 2:23:29.3
18. Victoria Mori (ARG) 2:29:27.1
19. Anne-Catherine Savaria (CAN) 2:33:44.4
DNF Andrea Terriault (CAN)
Before the 32 km FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix race on July 29th, the 500m Sprint d’arrivée Tim Hortons was held:
Official Results
1. Guillermo Bertola (ARG 5:33.23
2. Edoardo Stochino (ITA 5:41.59
3. Philippe Guertin (CAN 5:45.55
4. Evgenij Pop Acev (MKD 5:45.74
5. Xavier Desharnais (CAN 5:46.08
1. Barbara Pozzobon (ITA 6:08.54
2. Pilar Geijo (ARG 6:17.85
3. Martina Grimaldi (ITA 6:19.99
4. Anna Mankevich (RUS 6:36.22
5.Jade Dusablon (CAN 6:42.68
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