The women’s Olympic Open Water Test Event will be held 30 May 2008, beginning 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Fans can follow the race by opting in to live text message updates on twitter.com. Steven Munatones, editor of 10Kswim.com, will be sending the updates via Twitter every 5-10 minutes during the race. The women’s race will be the last chance for American athletes Kirsten Groome and Chloe Sutton to qualify for the Olympic 10K open water race.
Although Groome and Sutton will both compete at the Test Event, only one can qualify for the Olympics through this competition. The U.S. will not send any male swimmers to Test Event, as Mark Warkentin has already qualified for the Olympics following his 7th place finish in the men’s 10K at the Open Water Worlds.
Results - Marthon (10-kilometer) Swimming Test Event Beijing 2008
From The Marathon Swimming Test Event Host Site:
The marathon swimming tournament, an Olympic qualifying event, will kick off at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on May 31, bringing an end to the "Good Luck Beijing" pre-Olympic sports events ahead of the Olympics.The two-day event, featuring some 79 athletes and 74 coaches and officials from 33 countries and regions, will conclude the "Good Luck Beijing" events and all preparations will be reserved for the Games in August, said Xin Qunying, vice director of the park.
It is also the first time for the park to hold the open water swimming competition, Xin added.
Xin noted that since the marathon swimming and flat water canoe will be at the same water area on the same day during the upcoming Olympic Games, therefore, the on-spot simulation for the field transfer will be carried out this time to ensure successful organization in the Games.
The park, covering 32,000 square meters floor area, located in the north-eastern Beijing along the Chaobai River, is the venue for rowing, canoeing and marathon swimming of the Beijing Olympic Games as well as for rowing of the Paralympic Games. It is the world's only rowing-canoeing venue that contains both flat water and slalom courses.
Zhang Xiangdong, vice director of Beijing Shunyi Management Committee of Olympic Venues, said this time event will take place in the flat water area, where 3,000 seats in the spectator stand will be open to audiences. During the Olympic Games, the flat water and the slalom area can each hold around 12,000 audiences.
