By Steven Munatones, Swimming World Open Water correspondent
NEW YORK CITY, New York, September 6. AS the sun was setting over the Statue of Liberty, Thomas Lurz of Germany and Poliana Okimoto of Brazil won the New York City stop on the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup.
Lurz won his fourth World Cup victory in a row after swimming a tactical race. Facing large swells and heavy surface chop, Lurz patiently waited for the right moment on the fourth and final loop in New York City Harbor.
"This was real open water [racing] for many reasons," said Lurz referring to the rough water conditions that punished the swimmers up and down the course.
At one point in the race, fourth-place Chad Ho of South Africa was picked up by a wave and surprisingly found himself standing on a rock.
"I didn't know what to do and thought I would be disqualified, but I jumped back into the water."
Lurz was also pushed against the seawall and hit a large rock.
"It was choppy and I couldn't see [the rocks]."
But he recovered quickly and remained patient over the next three loops.
"I was waiting to make a move and I wanted to draft. It was a tactical race and I felt good," Lurz recalled who was always in the mix towards the front.
After the lead pack of seven men made the final turn, it was a 1.25K sprint to the finish. Like his 5K and 10K victories at the recent World Championships, Lurz then kicked it into overdrive.
"Lurz is the best," said Fran Crippen, who finished a close third behind Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia. "I made a few mistakes and lost the pack for a while. When I recovered, I looked for Dyatchin and Lurz because they don't make mistakes."
After he collected his fifth overall FINA World Cup race this year, Lurz said he was looking to capture his first overall FINA World Cup season title in 2009.
"This [FINA World Cup title] is missing from my record and I will go to the World Cup races in Asia to see if I can win it."
Likewise, Poliana Okimoto is well on her way to win the women's overall FINA World Cup title with her fourth 10K title of the season. But, this victory did not come easily as she was pushed by 15-year-old Eva Fabian of New Hampshire.
"This [victory] was very hard, VERY hard," said Okimoto, who is coached by her husband.
But on Brazilian Day in New York City, her exciting closing sprint was greatly appreciated by the crowd.
"I swam very well, but I watched Eva swim fast too. I had to work hard to take her at the end."
Mostly the entire women's field of 17 swimmers stayed close to one another for the first 8K, but then Fabian took off after her last feeding.
"I knew it was a little risky, but [open water coach] Gerry Rodrigues told me to take any chance that I had to make a move towards the end. So I did."
Fabian almost made her surge work if not for the experience and closing speed of the more experienced Okimoto.
"I felt good even if it was choppy," said Fabian, who built up a 15-meter lead at one point.
With 600 meters to go, Okimoto started her final surge in a beeline after Fabian. Seemingly to the beat of the Brazilian music in the background, Okimoto closed the gap on every stroke. With 150 meters to go, Okimoto managed to pull alongside. Like two tired boxers unwilling to give up in the 15th round, they battled each other stroke-for-stroke towards the finish. But, Okimoto had the momentum on her side.
With the towering skyscrapers of Wall Street in the background and the Statue of Liberty off to the left, Okimoto got the better of Fabian and won by a half of body.
Angela Maurer of Germany finished third and Ana Cunha of Brazil finished fourth. Full results below:
Men
1. Thomas Lurz (Germany), 1:47:41.5
2. Vladimir Dyatchin (Russia), 1:47:43.5
3. Francis Crippen (USA), 1:47:43.9
4. Chad Ho (South Africa), 1:47:44.5
5. Allan Do Carmo (Brazil), 1:47:48.0
6. Evgeny Drattsev (Russia), 1:47:49.0
7. Sergiy Fesenko (Azerbaijan), 1:47:52.5
8. Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria), 1:48:08.0
9. Andrew Douglas Gemmell (USA), 1:48:50.2
10. Kane Radford (New Zealand), 1:49:11.9
11. Alexander Maxwell Meyer (USA), 1:51:45.0
12. Luis Escobar (Mexico), 1:53:04.9
13. Charles Denison Cullom (USA), 1:53:18.9
14. Arthur Frayler (USA), 1:53:58.3
15. Daniel Fogg (GBR), 1:54:27.4
16. Daniel Delgadillo (Mexico), 1:57:48.9
17. Barton Wells (USA), 2:03:30.9
18. Andres Olvik (Estonia), 2:04:44.9
– Ivan Lopez (Mexico), DNS
– David Davies (GBR), DNF
– Richard Charlesworth (GBR), DNS
– Rodrigo Elorza (Mexico), DNS
– Penaillilo Roberto (Chile), DNF
Women
1. Poliana Okimoto (Brazil), 2:04:40.8
2. Eva Mariel Fabian (USA), 2:04:45.3
3. Angela Maurer (Germany), 2:05:24.6
4. Ana Cunha (Brazil), 2:05:25.9
5. Karla Sitic (Croatia), 2:05:27.1
6. Mathilde Riis Sorensen (Denmark), 2:05:45.7
7. Alejandra Gonzalez (Mexico), 2:05:51.0
8. Christine Elizabeth Jennings (USA), 2:05:53.1
9. Emily Ann Brunemann (USA), 2:05:53.4
10. Heidi George (USA), 2:05:55.4
11. Nadine Pastor (Germany), 2:07:20.2
12. Odette Saldivar (Mexico), 2:07:26.7
13. Swann Oberson (Switzerland), 2:07:28.6
14. Inga Kozur (Azerbaijan), 2:08:21.3
15. Keri-Anne Payne (GBR), 2:08:28.0
16. Emily Ann Hanson (USA), 2:11:14.3
– Cassandra Patten (GBR), DNF
– Lisa Broadfield (USA), DNF