The London Olympics are just around the corner and the women’s Olympic 10K Marathon Swim will be an unbelievably exciting race – just like the 2008 Beijing version, a classic race under the pressure of the Olympic stage.

Based on their final time and the exact dimensions of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim course, the top 13 swimmers averaged faster than 1 minute and 12 seconds per 100 meters.

1:12 per 100…without the benefits of wall push-offs (like they would have if they swam in a pool) and while taking drinks and gel packs en route.

What was very impressive was the fourth place finish by Angela Maurer of Germany. The 33-year-old nearly caught Cassandra Patten for third after taking a few years off to have a child. Only when Angela heard that open water swimming was added to the Beijing Olympics did she return to the water – and Angela is still around, always near the top.

The official results from 2008 are below:

GOLD – Larisa Ilchenko, Russia, 1:59:27.7
SILVER – Keri-Anne Payne, Great Britain, 1:59:29.2 (1.5 seconds behind winner)
BRONZE – Cassandra Patten, Great Britain, 1:59:31.0 (3.3 seconds behind winner)
4 – Angela Maurer, Germany, 1:59:31.9 (4.2 seconds behind winner)
5 – Ana Cunha, Brazil, 1:59:36.8 (9.1 seconds behind winner)
6 – Swann Oberson, Switzerland, 1:59:36.9 (9.2 seconds behind winner)
7 – Poliana Okimoto, Brazil, 1:59:37.4 (9.7 seconds behind winner)
8 – Jana Pechanova, Czech Republic, 1:59:39.7 (12.0 seconds behind winner)
9 – Andreina del Valle Pinto Perez, Venezuela, 1:59:40.0 (12.3 seconds behind winner)
10 – Martina Grimaldi, Italy, 1:59:40.7 (13.0 seconds behind winner)
11 – Marianna Lymperta, Greece, 1:59:42.3 (14.6 seconds behind winner)
12 – Teja Zupan, Slovenija, 1:59:43.7 (16.0 seconds behind winner)
13 – Yurema Requena, Spain, 1:59:46.9 (19.2 seconds behind winner)
14 – Edith van Dijk, Netherlands, 2:00:02.8 (35.1 seconds behind winner)
15 – Melissa Gorman, Australia, 2:00:33.6 (1:05.9 behind winner)
16 – Natalie du Toit, South Africa, 2:00:49.9 (1:22.2 behind winner)
17 – Daniela Inacio, Portugal, 2:00:59.0 (1:31.3 behind winner)
18 – Eva Berglund, Sweden, 2:01:05.0 (1:37.3 behind winner)
19 – Yanqiao Fang, China, 2:01:07.9 (1:40.2 behind winner)
20 – Imelda Martinez, Mexico, 2:01:07.9 (1:40.2 behind winner)
21 – Aurelie Muller, France, 2:02:04.1 (2:36.4 behind winner)
22 – Chloe Sutton, USA, 2:02:13.6 (2:45.9 behind winner)
23 – Natalya Samorodina, Ukraine, 2:10:41.6 (11:13.9 behind winner)
24 – Antonella Bogarin, Argentina, 2:11:35.9 (12:08.2 behind winner)
25 – Kristel Kobrich, Chile, did not finish

Photo of gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko by Nick Laham of Getty Images.

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