June 2nd marked the opening of the All Russia Children’s Center pool in Anapa. The pool is a 50-meter facility, which has been equipped to provide the top Russian swimmers with a new training option.
There were several former Olympic medalists who attended the opening including Viktor Mazanov a swimmer who competed in the 1964, 1968 and 1972. At the 1968 Olympics Mazanov won silver in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4 x 100 medley relay and followed that up by winning a silver in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay at the 1972 games.
The opening of this facility was a week ahead of the start of the Russian National Open Water Championships, which run from June 9th-15th. The event will determine the Russian team that will compete at the 2016 European Open Water Championships, which will be held in Horn, Netherlands.
The racing distances in the open events are of 5, 10 and 16 km. There will also be age group events, which will include 10 km for 18-19 year olds, 7.5 km for 16-17 year olds and 5 km for 14-15 year olds. The masters will be competing in 1.5 and 3 km races.