ROSARIO, Argentina, February 9. THE second stage of the FINA Open Water Grand Prix took place in Rosario, Argentina this weekend with Germany's Britta Kamrau and Alexander Studzinski capturing top honors for the women and men, respectively.
The meet, which took place over 15K, ended in some exciting finishes. Kamrau took the women's title in 2:11:10 over Russia's Anna Uvarova (2:11:16). Meanwhile, Argentina's Cecilia Biagioli placed third in 2:13:07.
For the men, Studzinski won in 2:05:02, while Argentina's Gabriel Villagoiz placed second in 2:06:54. Argentina's Damian Blaum and Italy's Rodolfo Valenti tied for third with matching 2:06:56s.
The race course was a triangle circuit of the Parana River with a starting point from La Florida Beach. Competitors swam down river about 2K into a 1.8K triangle circuit, which they had to complete six times. There was a total of US$10,000 in prize money available for the event, which doubled as the 15th Maraton Acuatico Internacional – Rosario. The next race of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix 2009 is in Viedma (ARG) on Feb. 14.
Special thanks to FINA for contributing to this report.