Payne wins in Hong Kong but Reichert and Bruni crowned World Cup series winners

The final race in the 2015 FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup took place in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, on Saturday 17 October.

In a closely fought women’s race, Great Britain’s Keri-anne Payne, silver medallist in the 10km at the 2008 Olympics, touched first in 2h05m25s6. The podium was completed by Brazilians Ana Marcela Cunha (2h05m25s7) and Poliana Okimoto (2h05m26s4).
“That was a great result for me today,” Payne said. “This is the last race of the season and I swam through the summer to make sure it was a good one and it was. Always a fight to the finish but it’s nice to come out with the win.”
Payne failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games at the World Championships in Kazan so will now capitalise on her return to form and continue working towards sealing qualification for Rio. Eighteen more swimmers (nine of each gender) will be added to the Rio start list following the FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier 2016 to be held in Setubal, Portugal in June 2016.
In the men’s race Christian Reichert (Germany) took gold in 1h56m07s4, followed by Brazil’s Allan do Carmo (1h56m07s5) and America’s Jordan Wilimovsky (1h56m09s3). Great Britain’s Jack Burnell touched fourth, putting him in third place overall in the series.
Although Hong Kong was Reichert’s first win of the season, he totaled 103 points throughout the series to be crowned overall winner of the 2015 FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup. Allan do Carmo, who won the previous leg of the competition in China, was second overall with 94 points. Jack Burnell, with wins in Cozumel and Balatonfured, took third place overall with 84 points. Burnell and do Carmo qualified for Rio at Kazan but Reichert has yet to secure an Olympic place.
Rachele Bruni was crowned women’s series winner with 112 points, with wins in Viedma, Abu Dhabi, Setubal and Mégantic. She placed sixth in Hong Kong. FINA Women’s Best Open Water Swimmer of 2014 Ana Marcela Cunha, who won at Balatonfured and Chun’An in 2015, was second overall in the series with 92 points. Third overall in the rankings was Anna Olasz (Hungary) with 77 points.