Courtesy: Swimming Canada
Montreal – La Traversée internationale du Lac-Mégantic will host the third leg of the FINA Marathon Swim World Series 2022, which will take place August 26 through 28. The best swimmers from around the world will be on hand to compete in this 10 km marathon race.
The Lac-Mégantic organizing committee, which has hosted the event since 2011, was forced to cancel the last two editions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is with nervous excitement and much enthusiasm that the organization prepares to welcome the event back to Canada, in collaboration with the Fédération de natation du Québec (FNQ) and Swimming Canada.
As usual, the competition will be a unique occasion to see the world’s best athletes, including a number of Olympians, compete for the top spot in this race. It is the only event of its kind taking place in Canada this year, as the Lac St-Jean leg has been pulled from the FINA calendar.
The 68th Traversée internationale du Lac Saint-Jean will still take place the last week of July, the 23 through 30, as is tradition. A 10 km event and a 32 km (ultramarathon) event will both be held, but will not be sanctioned by FINA.
The decision to remove the event from the 2022 FINA calendar comes as a result of a scheduling conflict.
Disappointment is surely felt by the event’s organizing committee, who have hosted a FINA leg every year since 2007. The FNQ and Swimming Canada would like to highlight the hard work of the competition committee, who year after year have worked to put on an event paramount to the history of the sport on an international level. The Traversée internationale du Lac Saint-Jean has been considered among the most prestigious races in the world since its introduction in 1957.
It was at the turn of the 1990s, after taking part in the event that FINA decided to create its network of open water competitions. The expertise of the competition’s organizing committee was also solicited in 2006 and 2007 for the creation of the 10 kilometer World Cup circuit, which then made its first appearance on the Olympic circuit in 2008 at the Beijing Summer Games.
Swimming Canada saluted the return of the FINA Marathon Swim World Series after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are very happy to see that there will be a Marathon Swim World Series event in Canada in 2022. The organizing committee in Lac-Mégantic is already preparing to host the FINA event, and Swimming Canada is delighted to have this tremendous showcase of open water swimming so close to home,” explains Suzanne Paulins, Director, Operations & Sport Development with Swimming Canada.
Swimming Canada also recognized the long-term contributions of the organizing committee for the Lac Saint-Jean event.
“We would also like to extend our gratitude to the team in Lac Saint-Jean for the numerous years it has dedicated to the promotion and growth of open water swimming,” adds Paulins.