With few exceptions, the world’s fastest professional marathon swimming women assembled in Isla Cozumel on the Yucatan Peninsula last week for the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup.
World 10 km champion Martina Grimaldi came out on top of the tough aquatic scrum just barely touching out Eva Fabian of the USA and a bunch of other Americans, Germans and Italians. While many of her competitors immediately went back home, Grimaldi decided to stick around in Cozumel with her Italian teammates and German rivals.
And why not? They were being treated in a stunning resort hotel on a beautiful island in the tropics with dozens of other world-class swimmers.
It was a perfect setting to work out, race fast, and enjoy a tropical setting between races, buffets, and training sessions.
Tomorrow morning, Grimaldi will face her own teammates as well as former 25 km world champion Angela Maurer and her German teammate Nadine Reichert and the rest of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in a 15 km loop race. The pace may be slightly slower due to the longer distance, but 2-time FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix champion Pilar Geijo of Argentina (shown on left) will give her European colleagues a great race.
The 26 women from 14 countries include the following:
Argentina: Pilar Geijo, Garcia Rita Vanesa
Croatia: Karla Sitic, Dina Levacic
Czech Republic: Silvie Rybarova
Spain: Esther Nuñez Moreira
USA: Lexie Kelly
France: Ophelie Aspord
Germany: Nadine Reichert, Angela Maurer
Italy: Rachele Bruni, Alicia Franco, Martina Grimaldi, Giorgia Consiglio
Japan: Yumi Kida
Kazakhstan: Neliya Abdrakhravnoa, Mariya Ivanova
Mexico: Melissa Villaseñor Reyes, Zaira Cardenas
Russia: Olga Kozydub
Ukraine: Olga Beresnyeva
Venezuela: Carla Diaz, Florencia Melo, Liliana Hernandez, Vicenta Navarro, Paola Perez
The 44 men from 17 countries include Olympic marathon swim bronze medalist Richard Weinberger and a slew of experienced veterans who will do everything in their abilities to climb on top of the podium. It should be a great race with the following men:
Argentina: Guillermo Bertola, Andres Mauricio Gatica, Raul Villagoiz Gabriel, Damian Blaum, Aquiles Balaudo
Australia: Rhys Mainstone
Belgium: Brian Ryckeman, Davy Billiav
Canada: Richard Weinberger, Aimeson King, Xavier Desharnair
Croatia: Marin Milan
Czech Republic: Libor Smolka
France: Romain Beraud, Damien Cattin-Vidal, Sebastien Fraysse
Hungary: Csaba Gercsak
Italy: Andrea Volpini, Edoardo Stochino, Nicola Bolzonello, Luca Ferretti, Simone Ercoli, Simone Ruffini, Mattia Alberico
Japan: Yasunari Hirai, Yuto Kobayashi
Kazakhstan: Vitaliy Khudyakov
Mexico: Manuel Chiu, Ivan Lopez, David Escobosa, Alan Rojas
Macedonia: Tomi Stefanovski, Evgeno Pop Acev
Netherlands: Marcel Schouten, Ferry Weertman
Russia: Anton Pilipas, Ivan Afnevich
Syria: Mohammad Saleh
Venezuela: Angel Moreira, David Carrillo, Erwin Maldonado, Johndry Segovia, Luis Bolaños
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