Of the top 20 places in the opening open water swimming race at the 2013 FINA World Swimming Championships, there were 17 different countries represented.

This shows the diversity, excellence, and explosive growth of open water swimming around the world. The sport is not dominated by a handful of countries as in other aquatic disciplines or sports. It is a sport that shows island nations like Japan and the Cook Islands are represented just as well as land-locked countries like Switzerland and Hungary.

This heterogeneity in the open water swimming community among individuals is as characteristic as the sport itself with its diversity of open water venues, traditions and niche areas from ice swimming to channel swimming. The top 10 results of the men’s and women’s 5 km championship race today shows this global village.

1. Haley Anderson (USA) 56:34.2
2. Poliana Okimoto (BRAZIL) 56:34.4
3. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRAZIL) 56:44.7
4. Kaliopi Araouzou (GREECE)56:45.3
5. Isabelle Harle (GERMANY) 56:46.2
6. Cara Baker (NEW ZEALAND) 56:46.2
7. Martina Grimaldi (ITALY) 56:46.3
8. Rebecca Mann (USA) 56:46.4
9. Aurelle Muller (FRANCE) 56:46.5
10. Rachele Bruni (ITALY) 56:48.1

1. Oussama Mellouli (TUNISIA) 53:30.4
2. Eric Hedlin (CANADA) 53:31.6
3. Thomas Lurz (GERMANY) 53:32.2
4. Chad Ho (SOUTH AFRICA) 53:33.7
5. Jarrod Poort (AUSTRALIA) 53:34.3
6. Samuel De Bona (BRAZIL) 53:34.9
7. Ivan Alejandro Endrica Ochoa (ECUADOR) 53:36.7
8. Sergey Bolshakov (RUSSIA) 53:36.8
9. Damien Cattin-Vidal (FRANCE) 53:38.4
10. Igor Chervynskiy (UKRAINE) 53:38.4

Full results of the women’s 5 km race with links to the backgrounds of each competitor are here. Full results of the men’s 5 km with links to the backgrounds of each competitor are here.

Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association