Sutton and Warkentin To Compete in the Olympic Debut of the 10k Marathon Swim

American open water swimmers will begin competition Wednesday with the Olympic debut of the 10k marathon swim competition. Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) will compete in the women's race on Wednesday, August 20, and Mark Warkentin (Santa Barbara, Calif.) will compete in the men's race on Thursday, August 21.

Sutton qualified in the women's 10K Olympic event following her win at the 10K Olympic Open Water Test Event held in Beijing, China on May 31. Warkentin qualified for an Olympic berth following his seventh place finish in the 10k event at the 2008 FINA Open Water World Championships on May 4 in Seville, Spain. Both the 28-year-old Warkentin and the 16-year-old Sutton will be competing in their first Olympics.

The swim will take place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China. Both competitions begin at 9 a.m. local time.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)