2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships
The 6th edition of the FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships will be held in Canada this year from July 17-22 in Roberval, Quebec. The Championships bring together some of the world's finest talents in Open Water Swimming and some upcoming players as well. The biannual tournament has been held every even year after the first edition in 2000, with the last edition being held in Seville, Spain. The Championships are sometimes referred to by a much simpler name, i.e. ‘Open Water Worlds’.
This is the last time these Championships will be held, due to the inception of FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships, which start in 2012. Another reason for discontinuing the current Championships is that the Olympics now have a 10 km open water event and so the open competition will just be played in the Olympics and FINA World Championships along with other aquatic sports. Fans of the sport across the world were very disappointed by FINA's decision on this matter, but it seems that the officials will have their way this time.
The Championships include events of 5 km, 10 km and 25 km for women as well as men. A number of prominent names from the world of open water swimming will be participating in the various events that have been organized. The German, Thomas Lurz, is the favourite to take the 5 km and the 10 km as well, after being crowned World Champion in the 10 km category last year.
Some other players who are rated as having a strong chance to win the 5 and 10 km events include Francis Crippen and Chip Peterson from the United States, and Evgeny Drattsev and Daniil Serebrennikov from Russia. Greece’s Spyridon Gianniotis could prove to be Thomas Lurz's biggest threat, as he finished second just behind him in the World Championships in Italy last year.
In the 25 km events, there are a few emerging names who could cause a few surprises if things go their way. Rostislav Vitek of the Czech Republic, along with Bertrand Venturi of France will still be the men to watch though as the competition draws nearer.
In the women's 5 Km and 10 km events, the situation is similar with a number of excellent swimmers participating, which makes it difficult to predict just who will win. Ana Marcela Cunha and Poliana Okimoto from Brazil, and Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten from the Great Britain are the women who have been rated as favourites to win, after very strong performances in the Summer Olympics in 2008.
The 25 km event sees Grimaldi and Federica Vitale from Italy, as well as Anna Uvarova and Ksenia Popova from Russia as the best contenders to make a mark in the Championships this year, due to their impressive performances in the past. However, as with each tournament, there are a few surprises along the way, and since this is the last ever version of the Open Water Swimming Championships, fans watching in Roberval, Quebec and indeed across the wider world will be hoping for a lot of closely fought races with a few wins for the dark horses.
Tags: