Swimming World Championships – Day 1 10km Open Water Wrap
New Zealand swimmer Cara Baker needed a medical clearance after fainting just before the start of the 10km open water swim at the FINA World Championship in Shanghai yesterday.
The 21 year old finished at the back of the leading pack in 22nd place in the women’s 10km, swum in hot and humid conditions at the Jinshan City Beach.
Her finish in the 55-strong field qualified her to compete in the official Olympic test event for the 10km at the Serpentine Lake in London next month. However she will now need to contest the final qualifying event in Spain next year with only the top 10 today securing a berth directly for London.
Swimming New Zealand Open Water Coach Philip Rush said he was going to withdraw Baker from the competition after she fainted firstly at the team hotel and later at the staging area before the race.
“It’s something that has never happened to Cara before. The American team doctor was helping us and checked her out fully,” Rush said. “He said that she was only slightly dehydrated and believed it was a case of nerves in the very humid conditions.
“Really all of her energies went coping with this situation in the couple of hours before the race. That aspect of things was very disappointing for Cara.
“She was very well prepared. Cara lives on the Gold Coast and is used to the heat and was well acclimatised here. She has never experienced anything like this.
“The doctor said she could start and we watched her closely for the first kilometre. She was swimming comfortably enough and held on to the pace with the leading pack but there was no way that she would overcome this hurdle to move up the field.
“She has recovered well after the race and we are completing the usual post-race protocols with an ice bath and recovery nutrition.
“I still firmly believe she was capable of a top-10 finish. She was only 15 seconds off 10th today despite all of this.”
Rush said Baker should be confident of qualifying in the second event in Spain next year, where she will need to be the leading Oceania swimmer, given that former world and Australian champion Melissa Gorman qualified in fourth place today.
The world title went to England’s Keri Anne Payne, the 2009 world champion and Beijing Olympic silver medallist. She clocked 2:01:58 to edge out defending world champion Martina Grimaldy (ITA) by less than two seconds with Marianna Lymperta (GRE) a further two seconds back in third place after the trio broke clear on the final lap.
There were 10 different nationalities in the top 10 swimmers home, with some heavyweights including the USA also finishing outside the top-10.
New Zealand’s Kane Radford (Rotorua) competes in the men’s 5km swim on Friday while Rush will delay a decision if Baker to race.
Results, 10km Open Water Swim, Women: Keri Anne Payne (GBR) 2:01:58.1, 1; Martina Grimaldo (ITA) 2:01:59.9, 2; Marianna Lymperta (GRE) 2:02:01.8, 3; Melissa Gorman (AUS) 2:02:12.0, 4; Cecilia Biagiolo (ARG) 2:02:12.0, 5. Also: Cara Baker (NZL) 202:34.0, 22.