Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Claudio Plit, who received a Certificate of Merit from the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame this year and was one of the most prolific and successful professional marathon swimmers of all time, is the race director for the new La Patagones – Viedma in Patagonia, Argentina on February 5th, 2011

Claudio and the Argetinean hosts build up a tremendous amount of local support for the athletes.

The entire region makes the athletes feel important. The fans get up close and personal, they are swimming version’s of Tour de France spectators. The athletes respond like heroes, making the races exciting and the finishes are always close, often decided in a photo-finish.

The 12 km marathon race will take place in the Negro River, opposite to the cities of Carmen de Patagones and Viedma, in the Patagonia region of Argentina as a part of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix.

The swimmers will race five laps around a 2.4K loop rectangular circuit in water between 21°C (69.8°F) and 23°C (71.6°F) for a total of US$15,000 in prize money where each swimmer will be escorted by a support boat.

Copyright © 2010 by World Open Water Swimming AssociationOpen Water Source