Alexander Studzinski, one of the top professional marathon swimmers in the world, had to cut his early season short with a cut sustained during a recent swim.
“My cut was from a steel cable. The course was triangular and we had to swim it six times. When we were swimming against the current, a steel cable with hard plastic covering and plastic buoys separated us from the public,” explained Alexander.
The fans get extremely close to the swimmers at times during the river race. “They were about 5-10 cm away from us. They were kicking us underwater. At the end of the fifth lap, I was leading the pack and some people pushed the cable towards me and I cut myself badly. The cut was not bleeding much, but [the wound] was getting white and I panicked a bit because of the dirty water. And it was burning like fire on my skin. So I stopped. I wanted to get back at the end of the pack, but the pain was too much, so I decided to get out.”
Tuesday after the race, Alexander got sick similar to the last two years after the race in Rosario. “I decided to pull out of the 57K Maratón Acuático Rio Coronda race, changed my flight and returned home.”
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.