Three Amigas Competing In Chile

Courtesy of WOWSA. FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup champion Poliana Okimoto, two-time pool and open water Olympian Kristel Köbrich of Chile, and American Eva Fabian will headline a trio of match races in Chile to kick-off the 2010 season.

The three women will compete in a 5K race on January 8th, three promotional races of 0.5K, 1K and 2K on January 9th and a 10K race on January 10th in the 1º Desafio Internacional Puerto Varas de Aguas Abiertas in Puerto Varas y Santiago located in relatively cool southern Chile (water temperature 17ºC (62.6ºF).

Poliana, Kristel and Eva may also race three men in a match relay where each athlete swims two loops of 1 km – 1.5 km.

Poliana and Eva, who swam very strongly at the end of the pro FINA World Cup circuit, are shown above in a promotional poster for their joint exhibition at Hacienda Santa Martina Nature Club and Golf. Despite the small stature of both women, they both have hearts of champions and are fearless whomever they race against.

Kristel is also one tough competitor. At the 2009 World Swimming Championships, she had arguably the toughest schedule of any woman in Rome: she finished sixth in the 5 km, eighth in the 10 km the following day, fourth in the 1500-meter freestyle and tied for 8th in the 800-meter freestyle today, did another 800-meter swim-off to qualify for the her final swim in the 800-meter freestyle for a total of 18.1 km of swimming.

The trio of races featuring the three women will be enjoyable to watch and report.

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