LAUSANNE, Switzerland, October 17. A total 83 swimmers (34 women and 49 men) from eight countries took to the water in Shantou, China, on October 13, the final stop of the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup, which would decide the overall winners of the 2012 circuit.
Greece's Spyridon Gianniotis cruised to victory with a four-second margin, touching home in 1h50m41s70. The 10km World champion, who won four out of the eight legs of the series, finishes on top with 134 points and continues to strengthen his competitive presence among the global open water elite.
The battle for the silver medal played out between Zu Lijun (CHN) and Allan Do Carmo (BRA), with the local swimmer clocking 1h50m45s22 for Do Carmo's 1h50m45s57.
With top-8 finishes in seven races, 2011 World Cup silver medallist Christian Reichert (GER) confirms his status as number 2 with an overall 92 points. Do Carmo bounced back from his tenth position in 2011 to regain the top-5, which he occupied since the launch of the series in 2007. He is third in the general standings with 72 points.
Among women, Brazil's Ana Marcela Cunha, 2010 World Cup winner, dominated this season's series, amassing a total of 160 points. In Shantou, the race was largely a Brazilian-German affair, with Cunha battling for the win and eventually taking out the race in 1h58m12s90. Germans Angela Maurer was second (1h58m14s23) and Nadine Reichert, third (1h58m15s59).
Reichert, who totalled three silver medals over the season, maintains her second position in the overall rankings (106 points) while compatriot Angela Maurer, who won the World Cup a record three times (in 2007, 2008 and 2011), retains her place in the top-3 with 103 points.
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