Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Estonia’s Merle Liivand attempted to qualify for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim to compete in Rio de Janeiro, but she found her way to Rio nevertheless.
After running a successful Mermaid-Motivation Clinic held in Rio during the Olympics, Liivand competed in Florida’s Swim Miami. For the second year in a row, she won the 1-mile race.
“The race was held in rough water under tropical weather conditions. But I was happy to win again. I totally dedicated myself to this swim because three of the most important females in my family who are fighting different health issues including cancer. It’s been a confusing time, but I have become a stronger person and athlete. Their strength is what has given me a deeper strength to keep fighting for drownings and help motivate other athletes and people to never give up sports or an active lifestyle.
Swim Miami is a great event run by Jonathan Strauss of SwimGym. It is truly a great kickoff for next season.”
Top 25 One-mile Results:
1 Ramses Rodriguez 20:09.29 (44 years)
2 Cavan Wilson 20:44.99 (16)
3 Merle Liivand 21:00.79 (25) First female
4 Collin Wilson 21:14.42 (14)
5 Jeff Moore 21:59.75 (50)
6 Paul Endres 22:03.43 (53)
7 Alejandro Lima 22:09.29 (44)
8 Trey Seibold 22:35.41 (48)
9 Jose Rached 22:50.20 (34)
10 Mikel Darrigues 23:22.79 (38)
11 Richard Gibson 23:49.29 (41)
12 Rosamaria Meyer 24:00.41 (54) Second female
13 Marius Popovici 24:11.80 (36)
14 Robert Declercq 24:12.92 (40)
15 Jennifer Martin 24:14.19 (35) Third female
16 Victor Mestre 24:29.71 (49)
17 Christian Cesar 24:30.13 (44)
18 Gary Curson 24:34.80 (60)
19 Brooke Atkinson 24:42.27 (27) Fourth female
20 Joao Pedro Lenz Cesar 24:43.62 (12)
21 Charlotte Schou 25:08.29 (27) Fifth female
22 Sydney Lingenfelser 25:09.33 (14) Sixth female
23 Eduardo Cabello 25:12.54 (38 Male)
24 Hugo Vila 25:33.57 (52)
25 Edward Boaz 25:42.42 (62)
Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association