Payne qualifies for 2012 Games after winning 10k open water
Source: Agencies |
July 20, 2011, Wednesday
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KERI-ANNE Payne became the first British athlete to qualify for next year's London Olympics by winning the 10-kilometer open water swimming race at the World Championships in dominating fashion yesterday.
Swimming through warm and muggy conditions in Jinshan, Payne led from start to finish to duplicate her title from the last full worlds in Rome two years ago.
"To be on that Olympic team at a home Olympics is going to be absolutely amazing," said Payne, who took silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. "It's a weight off my shoulders. I can concentrate on training now for next year and I don't have to worry about qualifying because I've already done it."
Open water races at the London Games will be held in Hyde Park's Serpentine Lake.
"I'm sure there will be added pressure on me going into the Olympics but I'll just work on that coming into it," Payne said.
Payne revealed after the race that her sister Janine is about to give birth. "Hopefully it will be a good day all round," she said. "That's all I'm waiting for now."
Digital touchpad
Payne clocked 2 hours, 1 minute, 58.1 seconds and Martina Grimaldi of Italy took the silver, reaching up to hit the digital touchpad 1.8 seconds later.
Marianna Lymperta of Greece was 3.7 seconds behind to earn the bronze. The top 10 finishers qualified for the Olympics, with the other 15 spots to be determined next June during a race in Portugal.
Melissa Gorman of Australia finished fourth and Cecilia Biagioli of Argentina was fifth. Also qualifying were: Poliana Okimoto of Brazil, Jana Pechanova of Czech Republic, Angela Maurer of Germany, Swann Oberson of Switzerland and Erika Villaecija Garcia of Brazil.
Amputee swimmer Natalie Du Toit of South Africa finished 39th.
The swimmers competed at Jinshan City Beach, about an hour from Shanghai. The water temperature was about 30 Celsius, just under the newly recommended limit of 31C.
"We had already trained in warmer water than this in Singapore, so I was prepared," Grimaldi said. "I tried not to even think about it and at a certain point I didn't even feel it, although my hands became inflamed."
Another Italian, Giorgia Consiglio, was pulled from the water midway through the race because of breathing problems. She was carried to a waiting ambulance and taken to an onsite medical tent. "She had a respiratory crisis and got scared, but she's OK," said Italian team physician Sergio Crescenzi. "It was just something psychological."
Swimming through warm and muggy conditions in Jinshan, Payne led from start to finish to duplicate her title from the last full worlds in Rome two years ago.
"To be on that Olympic team at a home Olympics is going to be absolutely amazing," said Payne, who took silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. "It's a weight off my shoulders. I can concentrate on training now for next year and I don't have to worry about qualifying because I've already done it."
Open water races at the London Games will be held in Hyde Park's Serpentine Lake.
"I'm sure there will be added pressure on me going into the Olympics but I'll just work on that coming into it," Payne said.
Payne revealed after the race that her sister Janine is about to give birth. "Hopefully it will be a good day all round," she said. "That's all I'm waiting for now."
Digital touchpad
Payne clocked 2 hours, 1 minute, 58.1 seconds and Martina Grimaldi of Italy took the silver, reaching up to hit the digital touchpad 1.8 seconds later.
Marianna Lymperta of Greece was 3.7 seconds behind to earn the bronze. The top 10 finishers qualified for the Olympics, with the other 15 spots to be determined next June during a race in Portugal.
Melissa Gorman of Australia finished fourth and Cecilia Biagioli of Argentina was fifth. Also qualifying were: Poliana Okimoto of Brazil, Jana Pechanova of Czech Republic, Angela Maurer of Germany, Swann Oberson of Switzerland and Erika Villaecija Garcia of Brazil.
Amputee swimmer Natalie Du Toit of South Africa finished 39th.
The swimmers competed at Jinshan City Beach, about an hour from Shanghai. The water temperature was about 30 Celsius, just under the newly recommended limit of 31C.
"We had already trained in warmer water than this in Singapore, so I was prepared," Grimaldi said. "I tried not to even think about it and at a certain point I didn't even feel it, although my hands became inflamed."
Another Italian, Giorgia Consiglio, was pulled from the water midway through the race because of breathing problems. She was carried to a waiting ambulance and taken to an onsite medical tent. "She had a respiratory crisis and got scared, but she's OK," said Italian team physician Sergio Crescenzi. "It was just something psychological."
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