Right off of the magnificent Hotel Be Live Grand Viva Beach, Thomas Lurz of Germany and Jana Pechanová of the Czech Republic sealed their latest professional marathon victories with impressive closing sprints. Their performances were a grand finale to the week of racing in Cancún, Mexico.

While Tuesday showcased the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup, today showcased the fastest marathon swimmers on the planet over a 12-loop course in the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

Lurz won the 15 km FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix (Maratón Cancún in 2:59:55.51, closely followed by Belgian Brian Ryckeman in 2:59:55.83 and fellow German Andreas Waschburger in 2:59:57.41.

27-year-old Mexican Olympian Luis Escobar Torres, commented on his 7th-place finish, “It was a very good competition for me, I was in the lead group throughout the race which is very good because they are the best in the world. On the last lap, with 600 meters to go, I dropped off a bit, but it was a good effort and is very useful to me what comes in six weeks at the Olympic Trials [in Setubal, Portugal]. There were many turns around the buoys [over 60] that did much to stop my rhythm. Every 300 meters I had to stop. But it was an excellent result because we will have similar conditions in Portugal.”

Among the women, the Czech Olympian Jana Pechanová won in a close battle over two-time Olympian Angela Maurer 3:13:14.21 to 3:13:14.54 with German Nadine Reichert right behind in 3:15:45.56. Throughout the race, the trio shared the lead, exchanging positions along the course.

8th-place Alejandra Gonzalez explained from her perspective in the lead group, “It was a tough competition, the pack stuck together until the eighth lap. Then the men and women’s groups merged, but I stayed with the second group. I felt better than [Tuesday’s] FINA 10km World Cup. I was much faster. Now I have to do is stay competitive, a month before the Olympic qualifying race where I have to get to 110%.”

1. Jana Pechanová (CZECH REPUBLIC)
2. Angela Maurer 3:13:14.54 (GERMANY)
3. Nadine Reichert 3:15:45.56 (GERMANY)
4. Swann Oberson 3:17:02.33 (SWITZERLAND)
5. Silvie Rybarova 3:17:06.20 (CZECH REPUBLIC)
6. Esther Nuñez Morera 3:17:06.89 (SPAIN)
7. Pilar Geijo 3:17:07.27 (ARGENTINA)
8. Alejandra González 3:17:08.75 (MEXICO)
9. Waaijer Maaike 3:17:56.23 (NETHERLANDS)
10. Ines Hahn 3:25:29.37 (GERMANY)

1. Thomas Lurz 2:59:55.51 (GERMANY)
2. Brian Ryckeman 2:59:55.83(BELGIUM)
3. Andreas Waschburger 2:59:57.41 (GERMANY)
4. Christian Reichert 2:59:57.59 (GERMANY)
5. Michael Dmitriev 2:59:58.24 (ISRAEL)
6. Petar Stoychev 3:00:09.73 (BULGARIA)
7. Luis Escobar 03:00:54.28 (MEXICO)
8. Chris Bryan 3:02:36.14 (IRELAND)
9. Jan Posmourny 3:03:09.62 (CZECH REPUBLIC)
10. Davy Billiau 3:08:45.67 (BELGIUM)
11. Andrea Volpini 3:06:12.80 (ITALY)
12. Damian Blaum 3:08:51.00 (ARGENTINA)
13. Libor Smolka 3:11:09.08 (CZECH REPUBLIC)
14. Iván Lopez 3:13:30.62 (MEXICO)
15. Luciano Martin Sales Rubio 3:20:33.02 (ARGENTINA)
DNF Alan Rojas (MEXICO)

Photo is courtesy of the Federación Mexicana de Natación.

Copyright © 2012 by Open Water Source