Thomas Lurz earns top spot in Men’s overall ranking: 2011 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup – Part 4
After clinching one gold, one silver and one bronze medal and taking rest on the fourth and fifth leg of Lac St-Jean and Lac Megantic, respectively, Thomas Lurz confirmed his participation in the sixth leg of the 2011 10km Marathon Swimming World. The sixth
stage of the Marathon World Cup was scheduled on September 25, at Xinjin River, in Shantou, China.
With his astonishing swimming style and victory at the previous stops of Marathon series, Lurz was the most desirable swimmer which the crowd wanted to see in China. Despite of his absence in the fourth and fifth stops, the German was still positioned on
the top of the 2011 Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) Men’s world rankings.
After a rest of one month and almost twelve days from competitive swimming, Lurz arrived at Shantou to prove his skills in the second last stop of the championship.
Unlike his previous races, the 31-year-old Lurz looked strong and compassionate for earning another title of the 10km series. Upon the start of the event, he went head-to-head with his challengers, coupling his endurance with long strokes.
The champion seemed comfortable and in great form, swimming his way through the 10km race to pass the finishing line for another gold medal. His unstoppable efforts placed him in a strong position against his challengers.
Lurz was furiously moving towards the finishing line to continue his winning streak while he was joined by China’s Zu Lijun, who also went rampant to secure his gold medal. With their unmatchable efforts, Lurz and Lijun presented a fierce competition in
front of the spectators, who were anxiously waiting to see their winner.
After a prolonged contentious swim, Lurz managed to escape his challenger on the finishing line, posting a time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 22.95 seconds. He was lucky enough to edge out Lijun with a difference of just 0.24 seconds, as Lijun came in for the
silver medal with a marvellous effort of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 23.19 seconds.
Lijun’s team-member, Zhang Zibing proved his mettle for the third position as he came across the finishing line with a timing of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 26.86 seconds. In the meantime, Chad Ho of South Africa, who finished sixth in Setubal, showed a considerable
improvement in his timing and acquired fourth finest spot of the swim, with a timing 1 hour, 54 minutes and 29.75 seconds.
Viewers were stunned with the disappointing effort of Spyridon Gianniotis, who won a silver medal in Santos and gold in Setubal previously, but ended fifth in China, clocking a time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 29.99 seconds. Meanwhile, Christian Reichert,
who ended third in Lac St-Jean, completed his swim in the eighth place, producing a time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 33.62 seconds.
The German was happy with his success as this was his fourth title claiming effort in the sixth stop of the series. He was now headed towards his final race of the series in Hong Kong, as his quest for medals was not over yet. Lurz articulated his hopes
of sustaining his spot in the final stage of the FINA organised event, as he was only one-step closer from cementing top position in the overall world rankings.
Continued in Part 5.
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