Upper photo by Jose Lorvao. Lower photos courtesy of FINA.
The pace of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualification race significantly picked up over the last 2 loops when Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain and Xin Xin of China started to pull away from the large lead pack. Only Samantha Arevalo could stick with the two alternative leaders. Coming around the last few turn buoys, the two marathon swimmers went back-and-forth in the lead until Xin out-sprinted Payne by 0.8 seconds at the end of today’s Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualification race in Portugal.
Xin explained her strategy with teammate Siyu Yan who led early in the race, finishing 11th. “We didn’t have a special tactics for this race. Things happened like that. I am very happy with the outcome of the event”, declared Xin, who felt a “bit cold” in the water. Training in both her native city and with the national team in Beijing, Xin Xin avoids setting high expectations for Rio. “You know, there were already 10 qualified athletes from Kazan. I am theoretically the 11th best of the field. My goal in Brazil is to improve this ranking.”
Third-place Arevalo described her Olympic qualification which was the first for Ecuador in the women’s Olympic marathon swim. “I really hope that this will open a new era in my country. I finished 12th in Kazan, so I was a bit disappointed, but we prepared hard for this event and things paid off.”
Official Results and Positions:
1. Xin Xin, CHN 1:55:12.1
2. Keri-Anne Payne, GBR 1:55:12.90
3. Samantha Arevalo, ECU 1:55:15.90
4. Chelsea Gubecka, AUS 1:55:34.30
5. Yumi Kida, JPN 1:55:38.40
6. Michelle Weber, RSA 1:55:49.70
7. Kareena Lee, AUS 1:55:50.20
8. Joanna Zachoszcz, POL 1:56:04.50
9. Danielle Huskisson, GBR 1:56:04.60
10. Paola Perez, VEN 1:56:21.90
11. Siyu Yan, CHN 1:56:53.20
12. Spela Perse, SLO 1:56:54.50
13. Jana Pechanova, CZE 1:57:11.80
14. Erika Villaecija, ESP 1:57:11.80
15. Stephanie Horner, CAN 1:57:26.40
16. Vania Neves, POR 1:57:27.20
17. Jade Dusablon, CAN 1:57:30.60
18. Heidi Gan, MAS 1:57:41.20
19. Angelica Maria Riberiro Andre, POR 1:57:56.20
20. Justyna Dorota Burska, POL 1:58:23.40
21. Ellen Olsson, SWE 1:58:27.30
22. Nataly Caldas Calle, ECU 1:58:28.80
23. Kristel Kobrich, CHI 1:58:31.40
24. Martha Ruth Aguilar Ortega, MEX 1:58:31.70
25. Astrid Iturbe Veven, VEN 1:58:32.70
26. Mahina Nicole Valdivia Dannenberg, CHI 1:58:33.10
27. Silvie Ryabova, CZE 1:58:33.10
28. Mireia Belmonte, ESP 1:58:36.10
29. Karla Sitic, CRO 1:58:36.10
30. Julia Lucila Arino, ARG 1:59:14.60
31. Charlotte Webby, NZL 2:00:13.20
32. Reem Mohamed Hussein Elsayed Kaseem, EGY 2:00:13.20
33. Zaira Cardenas, MEX 2:01:13.80
34. Maryna Kyryk UKR 2:01:17.10
35. Souad Nefissa Cherouati, ALG 2:02:26.40
36. Nilay Erkal, TUR 2:02:26.80
37. Cherelle Tahnee Oestringer, SUI 2:02:28.60
38. Krystyna Pachnishko, UKR 2:03:37.60
39. Carmen le Roux, RSA 2:03:41.50
40. Hoi Man Lok, HKG 2:03:55.00
41. Xeniya Romanchuk, KAZ 2:04:18.50
42. Ecem Donmez, TUR 2:07:51.00
43. Tiffany Wan Fung Lee, HKG 2:08:48.20
44. Merie Liivand , EST 2:22:13.80
DNF Meribel Saar, EST
DNF Khaled Abdelmoneium Akl, EGY
DNF Cecilia Elizabeth Biagioli, ARG
DSQ Eva Bonnet, BEL
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