Nova International produced an outstanding open water extravaganza at the British Gas Great Salford Swim. The twisting urban course really showcased the world’s fastest open water swimmers in an interesting package. And the athletes did not fail to deliver a great show.

Keri-Anne Payne proved that her navigational IQ is the highest in the world. She not only swims straight, but she has that knack to put herself in the ideal position throughout the British Gas Great Swims.

She often swims with her eyes closed in practice so she has taught herself to swim extremely straight, effectively eliminating the need to frequently lift up her head to navigate. That skill also proves that she is one of the most streamlined and balanced open water swimmers in the world. And the rest of the elite field followed the line that Keri-Anne set.

Like Thomas Lurz in the men’s race, Keri-Anne jumped out to the early lead and just hammered away, never letting up. It was impressive to see how Keri-Anne rounded the turn buoys – she make the turns tight and then only slightly looks up to angle nearly perfectly to the next turn. Text book. Absolutely text book.

“When they were tapping on my feet, I just decided to keep my head down and go,” she remarked. And that is what she will be doing between now and the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in August 2012.

Enjoy the race here.
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source