Peterson takes gold at Setúbal

The FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup moved to Setúbal in Portugal at the weekend for the sixth leg of the competition.

In a return to form, Charles ‘Chip’ Peterson (US) won his first gold of 2015 in a time of 1h54m23s60. Peterson had been ninth in the previous race at Lake Balaton in Hungary. In 20015, at the age of 18, Peterson won the 10km and was second in the 5km at the FINA World Championships in Montreal. A return to the World Cup circuit in 2010 saw him win at Lac St-Jean, where he also finished second in 2014.
The race in Setúbal saw Christian Reichert take silver in 1h54m47s10 leaving Peterson’s compatriot Alex Meyer to take bronze in 1h55m. Australian national champion Rhys Mainstone, winner of the Noumea World Cup race, finished fourth.
No members of the Brititsh marathon swimming team competed at Setúbal as they prepare for the World Championships Kazan in July.
In the women’s event Rachele Bruni (Italy) reinforced her overall lead in the competition, touching in 2h05m24s45 to claim her third victory of the season. She was 10 seconds faster than her closest challenger, Japan’s Yumi Kida (2h05m34s15). Bronze went to Hungary’s Anna Olasz in 2h06m17s95.
71 swimmers (50 men and 21 women) competed in the calm waters of the Setúbal bay. The final four legs of the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup will include stops in Lac St-Jean and Lac Megantic (CAN), Chun’an (CHN) and Hong Kong (HKG).