Choppy Waters Prove Challenging for Marathon Swim Test in Rio -- On the Scene

(ATR) Swimmers tell Around the Rings, the rough waters of Copacabana Beach provided insight into possible conditions next year for the marathon swim.

The sport held a test event over the weekend that allowed international swimmers a chance to dive into the oceans of Rio for the first time before the Olympics.

Twenty-five swimmers competed in the men’s event, a field dominated by young Brazilian athletes. Of the 15 Brazilians, the only one finished was Allan do Carmo, the winner of the event. Only ten international swimmers took part, with eight of them finishing.

"It was much choppier than I thought it would be. It became quite tactical because when the first three guys broke away, it was very hard to chase them," Christopher Bryan, an Irish swimmer, told ATR.

"Two weeks ago, in Russia [at the FINA World Championships], it was like a pool. Then we go here and conditions are completely different. It was a challenging course."

Despite the challenging conditions, swimmers said that being here a year out was necessary to prepare themselves for the event at the Olympic Games.

"My goal was to get a better insight of the course, and I’m happy about that," Ferry Weertman, a swimmer from the Netherlands, said to ATR.

Ruffini Simone, an Italian swimmer, told ATR that he and his coach will now draft a workout plan for the Olympics in September, now that he and his coach have seen the conditions to expect next year.

On Aug. 23 the women’s race also had 25 participants, but with only seven foreign athletes coming down to Rio to race. Once again, a majority of the competitors did not complete the race, with only 12 - six of them foreign - crossing the finish line.

Conditions for the women were less choppy than the races the day before, but the water temperature was a bit colder registering 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

"I must admit my only issue is it is quite cold, I had to swim quite fast at points to try and warm up a little bit but the waves are great, I love waves," Keri-Anne Payne, a swimmer from Great Britain, who won the event, told ATR.

"People make such a fuss of the water quality, it was beautiful today. I’ve swam here every day for the past four days in a row, and I haven’t gotten ill.

"I think everyone is making a big fuss of Copacabana, and there’s nothing wrong with it."

For Brazilian swimmer Catarina Ganzelli, it was important to swim here a year out before the Games so now "athletes can adapt to the course."

"It was cold, but it was okay for competition," Ganzelli said to ATR.

"The position of the buoys was good. It was a good test."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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