Ras Al Khaimah: Thomas Lurz of Germany and Poliana Oktmoto of Brazil won the first places in the men's and women's categories respectively of the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup held on Al Qawasim Corniche here yesterday.
In the men's category, Daniel Serebrennkov of Russia finished second and Valerio Cleri of Italy secured the third place.
In the women's competition, Poliana Oktmoto secured a clear win by outpacing Muller Aurelie of France who finished second and Martina Grimaldi of Italy who finished third.
The Ras Al Khaimah race, held under the patronage of Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, is the second round of the eight-race FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup.
Shaikh Saud said such races would definitely promote Ras Al Khaimah as a destination where international competitions can easily be organised.
Competition
Shaikh Saud presented the trophies to the winners at the closing ceremony.
Shaikh Saud said that Ras Al Khaimah was privileged to host the Marathon Swimming World Cup and said efforts are on to make the emirate an exiting sporting destination in the region.
Colonel Nazzer Muradad, Head of the Organising Committee, said that the RAK Ski Club, which hosted the competition, would be renamed Ras Al Khaimah International Marine Club as part of efforts to expand its mandate to promote all kinds of national and international water sports competitions. More such international competitions will be organised in Ras Al Khaimah which is achieving continuous success.
Thomas Lurz continued his winning streak in the UAE waters for the third time by winning the highly competitive men's swimming round in RAK.
He had won the FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in Dubai in 2004 and in Umm Al Quwain in 2006.
"The UAE waters once again turned out to be very lucky for me. I am so happy to win the world championships again in this country," said 28-year-old Thomas Lurz who has now set his sights on the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
