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This year featured a new swimming discipline at the Olympics: the 10km open-water swim. It's long and gruelling and rufty-tufty: with no lanes, athletes block each other out, swim over one another, and barge to get the best position. The Russian women's winner described some of the more hairy moments as like "boxing not swimming" and David Davies said he felt "violated" after being kicked, trampled and de-goggled in the melee. And that's all on top of a two hour swim intense enough that he went off for a lie down in the medical tent and the girls, the day after, said it "really really hurts!"
This is exactly what the challenge sport community lap up. They drink this kind of gruelling gnarliness with their porridge - remember in the 90s the marathoners who would go on about their blistered feet and bleeding nipples? Or the naughties triathletes motivated by the weeping athletes crawling across the Kona finish line on their knees?
It's also exactly what the "pure sport" people are crying out for. This is not rhythmic gymnastics or horse dancing, this is a proper first-past-the-post race that really is in the original Olympic spirit. Coubertin would love it. The ancient Greeks would love it. I predict great things for open-water swimming in the next few years.
2012's open-water swim will be held in the Serpentine, in Hyde Park. One to watch.
This is exactly what the challenge sport community lap up. They drink this kind of gruelling gnarliness with their porridge - remember in the 90s the marathoners who would go on about their blistered feet and bleeding nipples? Or the naughties triathletes motivated by the weeping athletes crawling across the Kona finish line on their knees?
It's also exactly what the "pure sport" people are crying out for. This is not rhythmic gymnastics or horse dancing, this is a proper first-past-the-post race that really is in the original Olympic spirit. Coubertin would love it. The ancient Greeks would love it. I predict great things for open-water swimming in the next few years.
2012's open-water swim will be held in the Serpentine, in Hyde Park. One to watch.
The 10km open-water swim is a new event for the Olympics and I think it's a great one - a gruelling endurance race with pack tactics, weather, drafting and a little ankle-grabbing. 
