World's best swimmers to take part in British Gas Great Scottish Swim

News release For immediate release 3 August 2010 World’s best swimmers to take part in British Gas Great Scottish Swim 4 Olympic medallists, 5 World champions and 1 double Commonwealth champion Some of the world’s best open water swimmers will go head-to-head in the latest event in the British Gas Great Swim Series in Strathclyde Loch, North Lanarkshire next month. Both the men’s and women’s elite one-mile races will take place on Saturday 21 August and will give spectators a taste of what to expect at the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games. World 5k champion Thomas Lurz, winner of the British Gas Great London Swim earlier this month, will face tough competition from Russia’s Daniil Serebrennikov, silver medallist in last year’s 10k world championships, as well as local hero Dave Carry, Scotland’s double Commonwealth champion over 400m and a competitor in all four British Gas Great Swims in 2009. Lurz will also face the challenge of Bulgaria’s Petar Stoychev, who took a fantastic bronze in the mammoth 25km event at the recent open water World Championships in Canada, along with former world 25k champion, Brendan Capell, and his compatriot Ky Hurst, winner of the British Gas Great East Swim at Alton Water near Ipswich in June. Lurz, from Germany, is a formidable swimmer over the shorter open water distances though, and as well as taking Olympic bronze in the 10k at Beijing in 2008, has been 5k world champion a record six times. In fact, since winning his first 5k world crown in Montreal at the 2005 World Championships no other swimmer has beaten him at this distance and he now ranks as the most successful male open water swimmer with nine FINA gold medals in his collection. Aussie Hurst was Lurz’s closest challenger at the London swim though Stoychev, who is the current record holder for the Dover-Calais English Channel crossing, was also in the frame before finishing fourth. Also competing at Strathclyde Loch will be two other Great Swim regulars, England’s rapidly improving Tom Allen – winner of last year’s British Gas Great East Swim – and Belgium’s Tom Vangeneugden, who has been runner-up at Alton Water for the past two years. The elite women’s race promises to be just as exciting with British Olympic 10k silver medallist Keri-Anne Payne again facing big rival Cassie Patten, who took the 10k bronze in Beijing. Payne started the 2010 Great Swim series in superb style by winning the East event, however Patten managed to turn the tables by taking the title in the London Swim – though both Britons will face intense competition from the girl who won the 10k Olympic gold, Russia’s Larisa Ilchenko. Also in the running will be another British star, Katy Whitfield, who won last year’s British Gas Great London Swim. Kevin Roxburgh, Managing Director for Scottish Gas, said: “We are delighted to have so many people joining us in Strathclyde for the Great Scottish Swim. Scottish Gas would like to congratulate everyone who is taking part and let’s hope the water isn’t too cold!” The event, which is now in its second year, is also expected to attract a bumper field of over 2,000 fun swimmers who will take part in a series of waves starting at 9am and continuing until late afternoon. The two elite races are set for 12noon (women) and 12.30pm (men). Spectators enjoy free entry at a venue that is tailor-made for viewing what should be some world-class swimming action. The event is the third of five outdoor swims taking place across the country with the next instalment being the British Gas Great North Swim at Windermere in the Lake District on September 4 and 5, with the British Gas Great Salford Swim completing the series on September 26. Over 20,000 swimmers are expected to take part in the series in 2010. For more details visit www.greatswim.org -ENDS- For more information contact: David Hart T: 0191 226 3230 E: david.hart@nova-international.com