Among women in Hong Kong, the winner was the first female Olympic champion in marathon swimming, Larisa Ilchenko (RUS). She faced pressure however, from Chile’s Kristel Kobrich, who took silver three seconds behind. Bronze went to Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA), but only after a razor-thin defeat of 4th-place Alice Franco (ITA). In 5th and 6th respectively were German open water stars Angela Maurer and Britta Kamrau-Corestein.
MEDALLISTS
Women
1. Larisa Ilchenko (RUS) 1:52:15
2. Kristel Kobrich (CHI) 1:52:18
3. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) 1:52:24
Among women during the race in Shantou, it was Kobrich who registered a clean win over Ilchenko, with times of 2:10:49.77 to 2:10:53.40 respectively. The bronze that day was reserved for Maurer, with Franco and Kamrau-Corestein taking 4th and 5th. This time Cunha had to settle for 6th.
MEDALLISTS
Women
1. Kristel Kobrich (CHI) 2:10:49
2. Larisa Ilchenko (RUS) 2:10:53
3. Angela Maurer (GER) 2:10:55
These races were the 5th and 6th out of eight stages that comprise the 2008 World Cup circuit. The next race will be held on October 4, 2008 in Singapore (SIN).
