Lausanne (SUI), August 20, 2012 - The first edition of the FINA World Junior Open Water Championships successfully concluded in Welland (Ont., CAN) with more than 130 swimmers from 31 countries making their debut on the international open water stage from August 16-19, 2012. Germany’s rising pool of talent walked away with four of the six titles on offer (and a total six medals), winning both the men’s individual races and team events.
Three races were on the programme in two age groups (14-16 and 17-18 years old) for men and women.
Among women, Michelle Weber from South Africa was the fastest in the 5km race (14-16 age group), clocking 1h00m05s6 while Lena-Sophie Bermel (1h00m08s0) and Patricia-Lucia WartenBerg (1h00m27s0), both from Germany, took a respective second and third place. Felix Bartels (GER) comfortably took out the men’s race, touching home in 57m10s0. Diego Vera (VEN, 57m30s8) was second and Yao Han (CHN, 57m38s4), third.
In the 7.5km event (17-18 age group), Shi Yu from China was the best among women, crossing the finish line after a 1h31m41s7 effort. She was closely followed by silver-medallist Anastasia Krapivina (RUS, 1h31m42s8). Mexico’s Lizeth Rueda Santos claimed third spot in 1h31m45s7. In the men’s race, Rob Muffles (GER, 1h24m59s9) was too strong for Jordan Wilimovsky (USA, 1h25m19s0), second, and Jan Micka (CZE, 1h25m48s5), third.
In the 3km Team event, Germany dominated the operations in both age group races. Russia picked up silver in both events while Italy and USA claimed the minor medal in the 14-16 age group and 17-18 age group contest, respectively.
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