Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

After a thrilling start in Argentina, the world’s fastest marathon swimmers are on the beach at the Ocean Maya Royale hotel in Playa del Carmen near Cancún, Mexico. The group of 11 women and 21 men from 15 countries will participate in the third stage of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix on March 29th, a 15 km circuit salt water course in the Caribbean Sea.

On the women’s side, Angela Maurer of Germany is one of the pre-race favorites as she visits the tropical paradise on the Yucatan peninsula, but she will be pushed by Silvie Rybárová (shown above) from the Czech Republic who won the first stage at the 57 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe – Coronda and Pilar Geijo from Argentina who won the second stage at the 88 km Maratón Hernandarias-Paraná.

The current FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix rankings after two stages are as follows:

1. Silvie Rybárová (CZE) 26 points
2. Pilar Geijo (ARG) 24 points
3. Vicenia Navarro (VEN) 16 points
4. Fabiana Lamberti (ITA) 11 points
4. Dina Levačič (CRO) 11 points
6. Rita Vanesa Garcia (ARG) 7 points
6. Esther Nuñez Morera (ESP) 7 points
8. Anna Markevich (RUS) 6 points
9. Noelia Petti (ARG) 5 points
10. Romina Imwinkelried (ARG) 4 points
11. Daniela Moretto (ARG) 3 points

On April 5th on the same course in Playa del Carmen will also welcome another group of the world’s fastest female marathon swimmers for the second stop of the 2014 FINA 10 km Marathon Swimming World Cup.

The competitors will include 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and reigning 25 km world champion Martina Grimaldi of Italy facing off Maurer, 2013 world 10 km silver medalist Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil, and 2013 world 25 km bronze medalist Eva Fabian who is taking a quick weekend trip as a break from her studies at Yale University.

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