Four Portuguese swimmers will try to qualify for the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in an open water marathon. This Open Water Marathon will happen on the 11 and 12 of June in Sado Bay, Setúbal – Portugal.
Where will it be this on the open water marathon?
This open water marathon will happen in the waters around the region of “Setúbal – Portugal” and it’s the only event in open waters that gives direct access to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This competition had to suffer some changes to be able to have the minimum requirements of a Olympic qualification.
The start of the competition will need to be given on a fixed platform, and the “refuelling” of the swimmers will need to be also done on an aquatic platform. This event is one of the competitions inserted in the ‘Setúbal, European City of Sport 2016’.
How many swimmers will be at this event?
On this marathon, at least until now the time we are writing the article will be 125 swimmers from fifty-two (52) countries around the World, and only two of each country will be able to qualify for the next Olympic Games of 2016. For each country, they will qualify 2 swimmers, one male and one female. In total, the number of qualifications permitted is thirty swimmers.
The women’s open water race will take place on Saturday (11 of June) and the men’s open water race will happen the next Sunday (12 of June). Both events will be at 16:00 (04:00 pm) and they will be preceded by an air show.
The vice-president of the Portuguese Swimming Federation, Manuel Freitas, welcomed the partnership established in 2006 with the city of Setúbal, emphasizing that the work done over the years “has earned the trust of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) “.
With this good partnership, noting the excellence of the Sado Bay for the sport and the good organization of the event, the protocol of partnership was renewed until 2020.
