FINA Magazine sent its request for votes to the media and members for the FINA Award – Best Aquatic Athletes of 2010.

The FINA Awards are given to the best athlete, male and female, in each of the five aquatic disciplines: open water swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming, diving and pool swimming.

The winners will be announced in Shanghai at the FINA Gala Dinner during the FINA World Championships in July 2011 which, coincidentally, will be the most important open water competition of the quadrennial since it will double as the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualifier for the 2012 London Olympics.

The nominees for the FINA Award Best Open Water Swimmer of 2010 are as follows:

1. Valerio Cleri of Italy, world 10K champion, world championship 25K silver medalist
2. Chad Ho of South Africa, 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup series champion
3. Thomas Lurz of Germany, world 5K champion, European 10K champion
4. Alex Meyer of the USA, world 25K champion
5. Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria, Open Water Swimming Grand Prix champion

1. Olga Beresnyeva of Ukraine, European 25K champion
2. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil, 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup series champion
3. Martina Grimaldi of Italy, world 10K champion
4. Pilar Geijo of Argentina, Open Water Swimming Grand Prix champion
5. Linsy Heister of the Netherlands, world 25K champion and European 10K champion

In related news to FINA and open water swimming, Bonnie Ford, a top reporter for ESPN, the leading sports broadcaster in the United States, continues to dig deep into the issues that are so controversial in Dubai: here and here.

Copyright © 2010 by Open Water Source