Marc-Antoine Olivier, Anna Olasz Win FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim Series Stop in North Macedonia
France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier and Hungary’s Anna Olasz won the latest installment of the FINA/CNSG Marathon World Swim Series 2021 in Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia on Saturday.
Saturday’s race was the second in the 2021 series. Olivier had also won the first race of the season in Doha, Qatar in March.
Saturday, Olivier was out front of the men’s field to win the 10-kilometer race in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 54.60 seconds. He pulled away in the final strokes from Germany’s Niklas Frach, who was 2.10 seconds behind in his best result on the international circuit. Kiril Abrosimov of Russia finished third, another second back, out of the 22-swimmer men’s field.
Fourth was Kristof Rasovszky, the silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics. Olivier was sixth at the Tokyo Olympics after winning the bronze medal in Rio.
On the women’s side, Olasz interrupted a string of French successes in recent races in Lake Ohrid, which included gold medalists in both races of the 25-kilometer ultramarathon swim last week. The silver medalist in that race, France’s Caroline Jouisse, finished third on Saturday over the shorter distance from a field of 17 women.
Olasz was fourth in the open water swim at the Tokyo Olympics, 2.3 seconds off the podium. In Lake Ohrid on Saturday, though, she was the quickest, finishing in 2:04:28.60. That allowed her to out-touch 2019 World Champion Giulia Gabbrielleschi of Italy by nearly three seconds.
The Lake Ohrid event is the second of five provisionally scheduled in the 2021 FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim Series. Future dates for Nantou, Chinese Taipei; Hong Kong; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, are to be announced.
FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim Series, Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia
Men’s Medalists
- Marc-Antoine Olivier, France, 1:54:54.60
- Niklas Frach, Germany, 1:54:56.70
- Kiril Abrosimov, Russia, 1:54:58.00
Women’s Medalists
- Anna Olasz, Hungary, 2:04:26.40
- Giulia Gabbrielleschi, Italy, 2:04:28.60
- Caroline Jouisse, France, 2:04:31.30