NEWS

Pop Acev and Geijo crowned FINA Grand Prix series winners

Damian Blaum (Argentina) and Alice Franco (Italy) were the winners of the fifth and final event of the 2015 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix, held on September 6 between Capri and Naples, in Italy. In this traditional 36km race, the Argentinean took gold in 6h22m13s, while Franco touched home in 6h29m54s.

In both the men’s and women’s event, the silver medal was awarded to the overall winner of the series. Evgenij Pop Acev (Macedonia) was second in Italy (6h22m16), but ended his season with 49 points and first place in the Grand Prix 2015. Pop Acev participated in all five legs of the circuit, claiming one victory, in home waters, at Lake Ohrid. In the women’s field, Pilar Geijo (Argentina, 6h35m17) took silver between Capri and Naples but was crowned overall series winner for the third time (having previously won in 2010 and 2011), with a total of 60 points. Her best result of the series was gold in the third race at Lac St-Jean in Canada.
Completing the podium in Italy, local swimmer Simone Ercoli was third man (6h22m20s), while Spain’s Esther Nunez took bronze in the women’s race in 6h43m31s
In the overall series ranking, Bertrand Venturi (France) was second in the men’s competition with 39 points and Xavier Desharnais (Canada) came third with 34 points). In the women’s series, Franco was the runner-up with 56 points, while Esther Nunez was third with 49 points.

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I created Outdoor Swimmer in 2011 (initially as H2Open Magazine) as an outlet for my passion for swimming outdoors. I've been a swimmer and outdoor swimmer for as long as I remember. Swimming has made a huge difference to my life and I want to share its joys and benefits with as many people as possible. I am also the author of Swim Wild & Free: A Practical Guide to Swimming Outdoors 365 a Year and I provide one-to-one support to swimmers through Swim Mentoring.