Blaum (ARG) and Kozydub (RUS) win 2013 OWS Grand Prix

OPEN WATER-Damian Blaum, from Argentina, and Olga Kozydub, from Russia, were the overall winners of the 2013 circuit of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix. Blaum, who participated in all the 2013 events, totalled 62 points, slightly better than Evgenij Pop Acev, from the Republic of Macedonia, who was second with 61. The third best this year was Italy’s Simone Ercoli, finishing with 53 points.

In the women’s field, Kozydub, who also swam all the eight races of the season, led the ranking with 111 points, being followed by Esther Nunez (ESP, 72) and by Martina Grimaldi (ITA, 66).

Since 2007, Damian Blaum had been second of the overall ranking on four occasions (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012), and got therefore his first overall win of the series. For both Pop Acev and Ercoli, this is their first presence in the top-3 of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix. While this is also a première for Kozydub and Grimaldi, Esther Nunez is a regular presence in the highest places of the ranking: she was first in 2007 and 2012, second in 2010 and 2011, and third in 2008.

The 2013 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix was organised in: Rosario, Santa Fe and Parana (the first three races in Argentina), then in Cozumel (MEX), Lac St-Jean and Lac Magog (CAN), and finally in Europe, in Ohrid Lake (MKD) and Capri-Napoli (ITA).