As the world’s aquatic community gathers in Shanghai this July to compete at the FINA World Championships in pool swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, diving and open water swimming, the eyes of the media and fans will be focused on the stars. Will Michael Phelps begin his road back to Olympic greatness? Who will emerge among the Chinese divers? What new routines will the synchronized swimmers unveil? Will Hungary stay on top of the water polo perch?

But there is, undoubtedly, no competition as important as the 10K race at the world championships. Fans will be drawn to the Michael Phelps drama, the elegance of the synchronized swimmers, the beauty of the divers, the power of the polo players, but it is the open water swimmers who will be fighting for Olympic spots in London.

The pressure is on. This is what these fantastically fit, tenaciously tactical, humbly heroic athletes have been training and preparing for years. Dozens of athletes will be swimming shoulder-to-shoulder at a pace that will be mind-boggling – and the finish will be so close that it requires several high-speed cameras to determine what athletes will qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

So, in our opinion, there is nothing as important or exciting as the open water events in Shanghai. The Daily News of Open Water Swimming will be there capturing the races live, interviewing athletes, getting their back stories, sharing their Olympic dreams.

Here is the official trailer of the FINA World Swimming Championships, very appropriately named ‘Dreams on the Oriental Seas‘, a subtle tip to the significance of open water swimming on the world’s aquatic stage:



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