Italians Fly Fast Over 22 km
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The opening stage of the 2015 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit was dominated by the Italian team that capture first and second on the men’s side and first and third on the women’s side. Mario Sanzullo and Alice Franco took the top spot on the podium with an Italian sweep.
The 25 km Maratón Internacional Aguas Abiertas Villa Urquiza – Paraná (from Villa Urquiza to Paraná) in Argentina was shortened to 22 km in the Paraná River. Sanzullo made the most of the short 22 km course finishing in a very swift 2 hours 10 minutes.
Sunday’s dual Italian victory mirrored the Italian sweep on Saturday’s FINA/HOSA 10 km Marathon Swimming World Cup (Maraton Patagones-Viedma International Open Water Swim) in Argentina where Simone Ruffini and Rachele Bruni also took the top podium spot. The final results of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix:
1 Mario Sanzullo (Italy)
2 Simone Ercoli (Italy)
3 Alexander Studzinski (Germany)
4 Evgenij Pop Acev (Macedonia)
5 Bertrand Venturi (France)
6 Edoardo Stochino (Italy)
7 Erwin Maldonado (Venezuela)
8 Damián Blaum (Argentina)
9 Evangelista Matheus (Brazil)
10 Tsvetan Yordanov (Bulgaria)
11 Samir Barel (Brazil)
12 Aleksandar Ilievsky (Macedonia)
13 Marcos Rodrigues (Brazil)
14 Luciano Sales Rubio (Argentina)
15 Fausto Brondo (Argentina)
16 Mauricio Gatica (Argentina)
17 Fernando Ciaramella (Argentina)
1 Alice Franco (Italy) 2 hours 18 minutes 28 seconds
2 Pilar Geijo (Argentina) 2 hours 18 minutes 50 seconds
3 Fabiana Lamberti (Italy) 2 hours 20 minutes 8 seconds
4 Esther Núñez (Spain)
5 Nicoletta Simonazzi (Italy)
6 Vicenia Navarro (Venezuela)
7 Vanesa García (Argentina)
8 Thais Sant’Ana (Brazil)
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
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.
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