USA’s Alex Meyer prevailed in the men’s race while Italy’s Rachele Bruni finished first for the women during the first stop on the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit in Argentina’s Patagones-Viedma river region Sunday. The American and Italian each picked up an additional victory in Friday’s sprint race making it a clean sweep for both marathon swimming professionals. This group of athletes will meet again in two weeks in Abu Dhabi for the second leg of the 2016 10km World Cup.
Meyer (1:55:44.72) and the 2015 Patagones-Viedma winner, Italy’s Simone Ruffini (1:55:45.44), went stroke-for-stroke on the last lap to close the race with only a second between them. Federico Vanelli (1:55:47.31) crossed the finish line behind the pair for another Italian podium appearance. Last year’s World Cup winner, Christian Reichert of Germany, finished his race well behind the pack in 15th place.
Bruni added another gold medal to her career total in Patagones-Viedma yesterday while also defending her 10km Wold Cup title from last year. In 2015, she took gold in this same venue as well as three more coming from races at the Abu Dhabi, Setubal, and Lac Megantic circuits. The reigning Marathon World Cup clocked a final time of 2:06:11.50, pushing Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto (2:06:15.00) to second place. Ecuador’s Samantha Arevalo closed out the top three with a mark of 2:06:22.72.
FINA/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. Hong Kong (HKG) – October 15, 2016
Last stop Hong Kong not Honk Kong