Courtesy of Masayuki Moriya, Zushi Coast, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

Masayuki Moriya manages solo and relay crossings of the Tsugaru Channel in northern Japan, but he also helps organize much shorter events in Japan including this last weekend’s Shonan Open Water Swimming event (湘南オープンウォータースイミング) in Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo.

The Shonan Open Water event has been held since the mid-1980s and includes a 800m swim, 2.5 km swim, 5 km and a very popular 10 km marathon swim from Zush in Kanagawa Prefecture on the main island of Honshu to Enoshima (江の島), a small offshore island in Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture.

In 2019, there were 479 entrants (450 starters) in the 10 km race, but only 64% completed the point-to-point course – so 164 swimmers were safely pulled along the course that starts on the mainland and heads straight out 10 km to Enoshima. “The safety net includes the swimmers themselves, lifeguards on paddleboards with red shirts, whistles and radios, roving marine vessels from boats to JetSkis, and a dryland operations team that coordinates and communicates with all parties when a DNF occurs.”

Shonan Open Water – Men’s 10 km Top 10 Results:

1. 大塚 陽 2:17:54.3
2. 鮫島 渓太 2:23:02.2
3. 彌永 雄一 2:24:20.4
4. 羽賀 尚孝 2:27:28.1
5. 櫻井 智和 2:28:53.5
6. 高橋 賢信 2:32:28.3
7. 久宗 隆史 2:35:25.0
8. 相馬 大高 2:35:32.0
9. 木村 奉多賀 2:35:41.1
10. 鎌田 慎平 2:35:54.4

Shonan Open Water – Women’s 10 km Top 10 Results:
1. 古賀 千尋 2:22:02.3
2. 松下 彩花 2:24:14.9
3. 安西 琴美 2:34:49.2
4. 宮田 沙依 2:35:55.2
5. 山口 綾乃 2:45:22.5
6. 中山 悠莉 2:45:39.5
7. 竹内 愛 2:51:10.6
8. 太田 麻衣子 2:52:11.6
9. 小保方 咲帆 2:58:34.0
10. 久美子 2:59:18.4

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