The French team dominated the second leg of the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup, by winning the men’s and women’s races held today in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The two heroes of the day were Marc Antoine Olivier among men (gold in 1h47m39s6) and Aurélie Muller in the women’s field (gold in 1h58m05s0), both winning comfortably over their main challengers. Olivier was more than seven seconds faster than silver medallist Jack Burnell (GBR, 1h47m47s0) and of Italy’s Simone Ruffini (bronze also in 1h47m47s0), while Muller’s win was even more impressive: almost 15 seconds ahead the Brazilian duo formed by Poliana Okimoto (second in 1h58m19s8) and Ana Marcela Cunha (third in 1h58m19s9). All medallists in Abu Dhabi are already qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, after ranking in the top-10 at the FINA World Championships Kazan 2015. In addition, Aurélie Muller was the gold medallist in this event in the capital of Tatarstan.
The winners of the 2015 FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup were not so strong in UAE: Christian Reichert, from Germany, was sixth, while Rachele Bruni (ITA) finished in fifth. Other highlights were the fourth position among women for Keri-Anne Payne (GBR), the silver medallist of the inaugural 10km Marathon Swimming event at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (CHN), and the seventh position for the current Olympic champion, Hungary’s Eva Risztov. In the men’s field, Hellenic star Spyridon Gianniotis was 12th in Abu Dhabi and 5km 2015 world champion Chad Ho (RSA) finished in 19th.
In a very competitive field – both in the men’s and women’s race, eight out of the best 10 in Kazan 2015 were present in UAE -, 81 male athletes took the plunge in the transparent waters of the Persian Gulf, while 49 competitors swam the women’s race. The next stop of the 2016 series is scheduled for Balatonfured (HUN) on June 18.
MEDALLISTS IN ABU DHABI (UAE)
Men
1. Marc Antoine Olivier (FRA), 1h47m39s6; 2. Jack Burnell (GBR), 1h47m47s0; 3. Simone Ruffini (ITA), 1h47m47s0Women
1. Aurélie Muller (FRA), 1h58m05s0; 2. Poliana Okimoto (BRA), 1h58m19s8; 3. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA), 1h58m19s9FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup calendar
1. Patagones-Viedma (ARG) – February 7, 2016
2. Abu Dhabi (UAE) – February 26, 2016
3. Balatonfured (HUN) – June 18, 2016
4. Lac St-Jean (CAN) – July 28, 2016
5. Lac Megantic (CAN) – August 13, 2016
6. Chun’An (CHN) – October 9, 2016
7. Honk Kong (HKG) – October 15, 2016
Swimming news courtesy of FINA.