Rei & Rainha do Mar Defines The New Open Water Normal
Rei & Rainha do Mar Defines The New Open Water Normal
Courtesy of Patrick Winkler, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Patrick Winkler reported on the 2020 Rei & Rainha do Mar, “With more than 60 starts and 2,000 athletes, Rei & Rainha do Mar defined the new normal. The largest swimming event in Brazil established a trend.
Rei & Rainha do Mar is the most public event in Brazil. This year, the event was held in the beautiful municipality of Búzios, on the north coast of Rio de Janeiro. Expectations regarding the event are always high, and there were 2,100 people who registered, making it the largest event in the world of 2020 in open water swimming.
There were numerous issues to resolve in order to ensure safety in the COVID era including race logistics, a tight schedule, face masks, garbage collection, public security, and athletic performance. In addition to the 1 km, 2 km, 4 km and 10 km ocean races, Rei & Rainha do Mar launched a new 500 meter race for swimmers who have never competed before.All the events had an elite heat and then age group categories (in 5- or 10-year divisions) – there were more than 60 different starts during race day.
The start featured 10 cones with 10 rows for each start set at a 1-meter distance apart between the competitors. All athletes wore a face mask during the technical meeting before each start. After, the staff collected and discarded the masks.
Between the end of the technical meeting and until the start, the staff had up to 2 minutes to collect the masks before the start horn. On the beach, all the disposable masks were discarded. During the awards ceremony, only the top 3 overall winners by category were allowed.
The conditions on race day were smooth, warm, without waves, and with long-range visibility.The 10 km Super Challenge was held at Praia dos Ossos with its finish at one of the most beautiful marinas of Manguinhos. One of the best swimmers in the world and multiple world champion, Ana Marcela Cunha was the Queen of the Sea with Allan do Carmo once again capturing the title of King of the Sea.
Rei & Rainha do Mar received strong support from the town of Búzios with ENEL as its master sponsor and the sports brand Mormaii as a its supplier.“
For more information, visit reierainhadomar.com.br.Copyright © 2008 – 2020 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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