After 5 stages the 16th annual European Cup in Open Water Swimming was won by German’s Andreas Waschburger and Hungary’s Anna Olasz. Waschburger won the bronze medal at the World University Games in Kazan Russia earlier this summer. For the men Soren Meisner (GER) was second and Yuval Safra (ISR) was third. On the women’s side Italy’s Nicole Cirillo was second and Finnia Wunram (GER) was third.
With distances ranging from 5k to 10K the tour consisted of the following 6 stops: May 24th Bat Yam Isereal; June 22nd Balotonfured, Hungary; July 28th, Kocaeli Turkey; August 3rd Hoorn, Netherlands; August 10th Navia Spain and the Final was August 17th & 18th in Hamburg, Germany. The final consisted of a 5K and a 10K each on successive days with the winner based upon combined times. Although swimmers can compete in all the stages, the title is a result of the best two races plus the final.
LEN, the governing body of aquatic sports in Europe, sanctions this series and awards 21,000 Euros in total prize money.
This is a very interesting series and does a lot to stimulate the growth and development of open water swimming in Europe. Eva Ristov, the 2012 Olympic 10K Gold medalist, won the European cup in 2010.
You can find complete series results here