Fina 10km Marathon World Cup 2009 Brazil

24 Jan 2009 -Santos

Brazilians Ana Marcela Cunha and Poliana Okimoto made it a green-yellow one-two in the opening stage of the Fina 10km Marathon World Cup 2009. It is the first time that Brazil has achieved top spot on the podium in Santos.

Ana Marcela, victorious in 2h 09m 49, took over first place in the final round, after the leader Kristel Kobrich, Chile, was confused passing the last buoy and directed left, led other swimmers in  error. Germany’s Nadine Pastor completed the podium places.

This year, the men’s podium featured an all Italian line-up, with victory for Simone Ercoli (2:05:44) over Luca Ferretti (2:05:49) and Valerio Cleri (2:05:54).

Olympic medallists David Davies and Cassie Patten returned to the international marathon swimming circuit five months after their successes in Beijing.

Before the race, Davies was looking forward to a welcome return to competition following a long time without an international race.

“It’s my first event since the Olympics and I’m looking forward to it, ” said Davies. “It’s the start of my road to London 2012 and provides an opportunity for me to try something different, gain more experience and learn about the event.

“In Beijing, I only knew how to swim the event one way. I need to learn more about the sport and understand how to deal with certain situations as they arise over the 10km distance.”

The Welshman expected the standard of competition to be tough but felt the British squad of three, including Daniel Fogg, would use Brazil to meet very different goals.

Before the race he commented: “Interestingly this will be my first ever sea swim and this will bring with it totally new challenges but the biggest thing for me is that it’s a race and I haven’t competed for what seems so long. It’s all about increasing experience at this stage.

“It’s going to be hard not to race from the front which is what I’ve previously done. My aim is to stay in the pack and learn about this environment. I won’t feel very comfortable but I know it’s going to test me mentally. That’s what this series for me is all about, learning about the event and finding different ways to race.”

Fogg and Davies  finished in Santos in 16th and 27th respectively in 2h 07m 02 and 2h 19m 51s

The team was lead by British Swimming Open Water Performance Manager Mark Perry who expected the early rounds of the FINA series to be form part of an important learning curve for the athletes.

Explained Perry. “Davies and Fogg are still quite inexperienced when it comes to open water swimming and I think the more exposure they have the better.

“For Patten this meet is more about building on her experience. She already has a good knowledge of the sport and I just want her to have another opportunity to test out her tactics.”

Brazil is just one of a number of identified events Perry hopes Britain’s athletes will be able to use to create a better understanding and awareness.

“We will be taking part in a number of these events and the athletes will be testing out different tactics in different races. With open water swimming, tactics need to be planned on the day of the race. We all need to be able to think on our feet,” said Perry.

“If we come away from this event with medals then that would great however it is not our main focus for the competition. I want the athletes to learn from these races and this will prepare them for future internationals.”

Patten finished in Santos in 17th place (2h 21m 47s)

Fina rewards to 8th place:
Women = 1. Ana Marcela Cunha – Brazil – 2h 09m 49 (US$ 2500) /  2. Poliana Okimoto – Brazil – 2h 09m 58 (US$ 2000)  /  3. Nadine Pastor – Germany – 2h 10m 00 (US$ 1500)  /  4. Martina Grimaldi – Italy – 2h 10m 01 (US$ 1.200)  /  5. Giorgia Consiglio – Italy –  2h 10m 03 (US$ 1000)  /  6. Alice Franco – Italy – 2h 10m 04 (US$ 800) /  7. Angela Maurer – Germany  – 2h 10m 05 (US$ 600)  / 8. Kristel Kobrich – Chile – 2h 10m 06 (US$ 400)

Men =  1. Simone Ercoli – Italy – 2h 05m 44 (US$ 2500) /  2. Luca Ferretti – Italy – 2h 05m 49 (US$ 2000)  /  3. Valerio Cleri – Italy – 2h 05m 54 (US$ 1500)  /  4. Allan do Carmo – Brazil – 2h 05m 57 (US$ 1200)  /  5. Luis Escobar – Mexico – 2h 05m 59  (US$ 1000)  /  6. Nicola Bolzonello – Italy – 2h 06m 01 (US$ 800) /  7. Daniel Delgadillo – Mexico – 2h 06m 02 (US$ 600)  / 8. Ivan Lopez – Mexico – 2h 06m 05 (US$ 400)

Full FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup 2009 calendar:
1. January 24, 2009 in Santos (BRA)
2. June 27, 2009 in Setubal (POR)
3. July 23, 2009 in Lac St. Jean (CAN)
4. August 8, 2009 in Varna (BUL)
5. August 12, 2009 on Lake Annecy (FRA)
6. August 15, 2009 in London (GBR)
7. August 29, 2009 in Copenhagen (DEN)
8. September 7, 2009 in Manhattan, NYC (USA)
9. September 12, 2009 in Cancun (MEX)
10. September 20, 2009 in An Chun (CHN)
11. September 26, 2009 in Shantou (CHN)
12. October 4, 2009 in Hong Kong (HKG)
13. October 17, 2009 in Dubai (UAE)
14. October 21, 2009 in Sharjah (UAE)