World Aquatics Confirms 13 Additional Swimmers for Olympic 10K Races
World Aquatics on Tuesday confirmed 13 additional swimmers for the Olympic open-water races in Paris on the basis of their times in the pool.
Among the notable names joining the open water fray are veteran medal contenders Felix Aubock of Austria, Daniel Wiffen of Ireland and Guilherme Costa of Brazil, plus Turkish teen sensation Kuzey Tuncelli.
The additions bring the number of open water competitors to 57, a record-high in the fifth Olympics since the 10k has been part of the Games. There are 24 women and 33 men representing 30 countries, which is just shy of the record number of nations set at 32 in the 2012 Olympics.
In addition to the 22 automatic qualifiers on the basis of open water performance, 13 swimmers who have hit the Olympic qualification standard in either the 800 meters or 1,500 meters in the pool can compete in the open water race in addition to their pool program. The additions also have to be under the maximum of two entrants per country.
Only two women – Germany’s Leonie Martins and Italy’s Ginerva Taddeucci – took up World Aquatics on its offer. Both qualified in the 800 free. Aubock, Costa, Wiffen, Tuncelli, fellow Turk Emir Batur Albayrak and American David Johnston qualified on the basis of the 800 free (the participation of both Johnston and Wiffen had been publicized by their federations).
Five swimmers with 1,500 free cuts will also compete: Carlos Garach Benito of Spain, Kim Woo-min of South Korea, Henrik Christiansen of Norway, Victor Johnasson of Sweden and Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi.
The women’s race is Aug. 8, the men a day later. It is slated to take place in the River Seine at Pont Alexandre III. (The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium is the back-up location should the Seine’s water quality not improve to be suitable for swimming.)
The full list of Olympic 10K participants is available here.
