Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

How the elite athletes put on their final kick during 1 km, 5 km, 10 km or 25 km races becomes readily apparent when you observe them workout in a pool. Their speed, tenacity and mental focus are inspirational.

All were very apparent when great open water swimmers like Jordan Wilimovsky, Brendan Casey and Yasunari Hirai train in the pre-dawn hours at the Culver City Plunge in Southern California with Team Santa Monica coaches Dave Kelsheimer and Luca.

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