Women's world champ for Midmar Mile
25 January 2010
The women's event in the 37th Halfway Toyota Midmar Mile, which has drawn some world-class entrants, is set to be one of the most hotly contested races in the history of South Africa's famous open-water swim.
Defending multiple champion Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain is set to start as the favourite in a field that boasts the largest international participation ever assembled at the picturesque Midmar Dam, which is situated near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal.
Payne is the current world 10-kilometre champion, after she comfortably claimed the title at the World Championships in Rome in 2009. She was recently voted as Swimming World Magazine's female open water swimmer of the year.
Crowd favourite
Payne originally hails from Johannesburg and has always been one of the crowd's favourites at the world's largest open water swimming event.
She can, however, expect a strong challenge from German ace, Nadine Pastor, whom Payne edged out for top honours in the 2009 event. Pastor posted the fastest last 400 metres in that race despite having swum five-kilometre and 10-kilometre events in the preceding 72 hours!
Pastor, the current German 10-kilometre champion, was also the most improved contestant on the 2009 FINA 10-kilometre Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit where she gained numerous podium finishes.
She also claimed victory in the 2009 British Gas Great North Swim with a stunning performance that saw her complete the one-mile open water course in 18 minutes and 14 seconds. She was followed over the line by promising British junior Katy Whitfield (18m 15s) and Olympic champion, Russia's Larisa Ilchenko (18m 16s).
Powerful British team
With Whitfield a member of the powerful British team that is set to compete at the 2010 Midmar Mile, a highly competitive swim is certainly on the cards.
Former butterfly ace and British national open water swimming performance director Mark Perry commented on Thursday: "British Swimming are excited to be racing in one of the most famous open water races in the world.
"It's a great opportunity for our athletes to race in warm weather early in the year, and we are looking forward to both the experience and the South African hospitality.
"The team is a mixture of experienced world class Internationals and emerging young talent. Whilst the team are all going to be racing in their heaviest training period, we still expect them to race tough and step up to the bar."
Entry deadline extended
The Midmar Mile organisers have left the online entries open for a few extra days due to a surge of entries last week.
The event takes place on the 13 and 14 February and the online entries will be open on the Midmar Mile website until midnight on Tuesday, 26 January.SAinfo reporter
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