Way back in the pre-Olympic marathon swimming era at the 3rd FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships held in Dubai in 2004, Thomas Lurz was making a name for himself as a 25-year-old world champion open water swimmer.

In the river through the heart of Dubai, he won a dramatic come-from-way-behind victory over
Alan Bircher of Great Britain who had built-up an early 400-meter lead in one of the most dramatic international races ever held.

And, remarkably, 8 years later, humble, soft-spoken 33-year-old is still leading the charge with a focus and precision true to his German roots.  Leading up to the 2012 London Olympics, the bronze medalist in the marathon swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics trains full-time with the German military that supports Olympic athletes. He is renowned for being a very tough workout swimmer that enables his success in international competitions.

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“I swim around 7,000 – 8,000 meters per workout or about 80 km a week in a swimming pool,” he explains. “Occasionally, I swim more like 105 km a week, but this isn’t very often, only a few weeks in a year.”  Like a typical pool swimmer that he once was, Lurz uses a variety of equipment and interval sets to develop an ability to average less than 1:07 per 100 meters for 10,000 meters – without the benefit of walls or turns. “We do around two hard kicking sets per week, but also I do kicking sets and pulling sets in nearly every training session which helps with recovery…it’s easier to swim with pull buoy.”

But easy does not enter his workout vocabulary much. “I have done many hard workouts in my life. I don’t know exactly which one was the hardest, but I have done a 15,000-meter straight freestyle set in a 50m pool without stopping. I also did a 10 x 800 freestyle set and 60 x 100 freestyle, trying to go under 1:02 every 100 meters.” With those kinds of sets, it is no wonder he has been leading the pack at international competitions for nearly a decade.

While every swimmer has their inner team and support crew, Lurz’s inner circle is truly family. “My brother [Stefan Lurz] will be in London with me as the German open water head coach. I also have tattoos: one with the Olympic rings and one with the birth date of my father who died in 2007. He always supported me a lot.”

With such a support team, great things are expected in London for the long-time German open water swimming superstar.

The excitement leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games is building.

There are precious few opportunities for the Olympic marathon swimming gold medal favorites to go head-to-head with one another.  Cancún, Mexico presented one of those rare opportunities.

The hard-fought 10 kilometer battle in the beautiful tropical setting did not disappoint. The finish was literally too close to call. For 45 minutes as an international group of officials poured over the photo finish … frame-by-frame. The race was a dead heat to the naked eye… and on film.

The race only points out how sensational, how dramatic, how unpredictable the Olympic 10 km Marathon Swim will be in Hyde Park on August 9th and 10th.  It will be a race like no other. It will have the greatest television viewership in history. It will have the fastest open water swimmers in the planet swimming like they have never done before. Coming down to a sprint finish, like in Cancún.

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Live before a worldwide television audience with millions more online and over 30,000 people lining the shores of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, the world’s fastest open water swimmers will put on a thrilling race with a most dramatic finish.

As in Cancún, the top men included Olympic gold medal co-favorites Thomas Lurz of Germany and Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece.

Both Lurz and Giannotis are supremely fit, savvy veterans of the world’s waterways, and yet they were surrounded in a tightly wound pack, including… Olympic 1500m gold medalist Ous Mellouli from Tunisia, English Channel record holder Petar Stoychev and a host of other Olympians from around the world… Julien Sauvage of France, Brian Ryckeman of Belgium, Andreas Waschburger of Germany, Igor Snitko and Igor Chervynskiy of Ukraine, Luis Escobar of Mexico, Csaba Gercsak of Hungary, and Rostislav Vitek of the Czech Republic.

With dozens of world championship titles under the swim caps of this field of aquatic gladiators, Cancun was an all-out, gut-wrenching sprint that was the last preview of the most highly anticipated finish at the London Olympics. With no lanes, no walls and no mercy, the men were tactical and tough, fast and physical, focused and fit. Olympic heroes of the deep, each slicing through the turbulent waters like streamlined dolphins.

After huddling around the television monitor for 45 minutes, the judges awarded victory to Lurz over his Greek arch-rival Gianniotis.

But come this August, add Australian star Ky Hurst, Russians Vladimir Dyatchin and Sergey Bolshakov, Spaniard Francisco Hervas and American Alex Meyer to the mix and you can expect the unexpected.

Ous Mellouli upped the ante in the Olympic marathon swimming 10km when he qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games. While Europeans won all the open water medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the epicenter of the sport may have just shifted to Tunisia.

The men’s Olympic marathon swim was already going to be a fast race pre-Mellouli. With Mellouli now in the game, it just got a whole lot faster.

Basketball fans want Kevin Durant taking the last shot in a basketball game. Swimming fans want Jason Lezak anchoring their relay. And Tunisia is looking forward to seeing Mellouli throwing down the hammer on the last loop in the Olympic marathon swimming final on August 10th.

New Zealand’s Kane Radford explained Mellouli’s speed from his perspective. “I would be willing to put money on [Mellouli] to win the gold at the Olympics with the speed he showed in those last two laps [in the qualification race]. It was something unbelievable. You had to witness it to see how fast that change of speed was. It’s hard to believe you could swim 7-8km and still have that much speed left in the tank.”

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Mellouli’s pool training consists of lower volume, but arguably greater intensity, than his competitors. Watching him train is to see balanced, streamlined power and controlled fury as his body rides high in the water.

“I’ve never been in a race that has changed gears so quickly and so fast,” explained Radford to the New Zealand media.

“It has opened my eyes that it is the way it is going now, that you have to have that amazing turn of speed over the last 2 km.”

Mellouli has been gearing up for the Olympics by doing FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup races.

He also trained at high altitude with a precise taper period under the guidance of some of the world’s most experienced coaches at the Trojan Swim Club in Southern California. And the Olympic gold medalist from the pool is taking open water swimming swim very, very seriously.

“He is such a hard worker and he knows what he wants,” said Catherine Vogt who has been mentoring him throughout his preparation period. “He was injured a bit a few years ago, but he recovered and is swimming so well now.”

So expect one of the finest tuned, hardest working Olympic distance freestyle champions to be leading the pack in the Serpentine. “Everything is so strategic at the highest levels [of open water swimming], but at the end of the day, it is also primarily about raw speed, incredible endurance and power. And Ous has all three.”

Haley Anderson is certainly peaking at the right time.

After turning in an 8:26 in the 800m freestyle without a full taper at the USA Olympic Swimming Trials, she certainly is showing the world-class speed and stamina .

But the northern California native says, “I hate walls. I hate turns.” It is certainly an unusual statement from the reigning NCAA champion in the 500-yard freestyle, a gut-busting 4+ minute swim that requires 19 flip turns in, and the third-place finisher in the 800m freestyle at the Trials.

But the personable 20-year-old has good reason for her dislike of walls and turns. She has quickly turned into one of the world’s fastest open water swimmers.

After hovering in the top 5 among the American elite open water swimmers, she began hitting her stride in June’s FINA Olympic Marathon Swimming Qualifier. Her victory elevated her among the serious medal contenders in the Olympic marathon swim next month in London.

“I feel more relaxed in the open water. I love the open water. I like getting ready for anything in the open water. I like the need to be ready to adjust to conditions, currents and the competition. I grew up near a lake [Folsom Lake] in northern California. My sister and I would always walk over for a swim. You can just swim and swim without worrying about walls or turns.”

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While Anderson’s past was dominated by racing up and down pools, her sights now clearly include the open water. Open water races, however, presents time – lots of time – to think and react which plays to her strengths.

“During the open water, I have time to doubt myself with lots of negative thoughts. During the first 5K, I was thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, I need to work my way up the pack.’ But as I started to work my way up the pack, I get more and more positive. It is like a natural progression.”

Upwards and onwards.

Her coaches know she is plenty of upside in the sport.

“Haley showed such composure at the Olympic Qualifier [in Setubal, Portugal]. She was tactical, patient, relaxed, and focused,” said her coach Catherine Vogt.

“She showed speed when it was needed. I told her to stay in the front pack, take good feeds, and adjust if anything didn’t go according to plan.” And they both trusted on her closing speed on last lap.

She will draw upon that speed in London towards the end of the 2-hour marathon swim. “Haley has been preparing all year,” recalled Vogt. “Even with NCAA championships, she has continued to stay focused on her dream. One step at a time, preparing with cold water swims, good pool training and racing.”

Anderson possesses two characteristics that will prove valuable as she circles the Serpentine six times in the Olympic 10K: size and speed. Her lengthy frame and fast turnover will be assets she will call upon as she comes barreling down towards the finish, most probably with 5-8 other leading contenders. If pre-race predictions come true, she and the others will be chasing Keri-Anne Payne in the final stretch. Anderson will need to draw upon that NCAA championship speed to climb on the Olympic podium.

While Anderson knew open water and its challenges and allure from an early age, it took her a while to find herself back on the shoreline. She initially focused on the pool and developed into a top age-group swimmer emerging and high school star. The fast-improving University of Southern California junior who won her first NCAA championship this year is studying communications – a handy major considering all the interviews she has been giving on her pool and open water exploits. “I love USC. I have grown up here and matured. I have improved every year here under my coaches Dave Salo, Kevin Clements and Catherine Vogt. The Trojans take such pride in their school, from the students to the professors. You can be walking down the street in your USC shirt and people just come up to you and talk. It is like being in a big family.”

And her family will be with her in London. Haley and older sister Alyssa both qualified for the American Olympic Team. Haley will represent the USA in the open water while Alyssa will race in the pool. They are both stoked with the younger sister focusing on the 2-hour marathon swim and the older sister focusing on a 200-meter race that will take less than 2 minutes. “My entire family is going to London; parents, sisters, aunts. About ten people I think,” Haley explained. “We’re so excited to go to the Olympic Village and experience everything the Olympics offers.”

In addition to working out with her sister in the Olympic Team camp, Anderson will fine-tune the little things to boost her medal chances in the lead-up to her 10K race. “My coaches and I are working on my turns, drafting and feeding. I practice with gel packs in my swimsuit during workouts now. I know I have to get better. But I keep learning more and more.”

With the biggest race of her career on August 9th, she has very little time to study. Fortunately, she trains in the most successful swimming program on Earth at USC. Olympians occupy nearly every lane of her workouts with Olympic gold medalists including Rebecca Soni, Kosuke Kitajima and Ous Mellouli. The ambiance of winning is as thick as the color maroon around the Trojan pool deck. With Olympians from 11 countries, Haley is a serious medal contender. “Every year as I get older, I am able to improve more and more. As I gained more experience over the last few years, the possibility of competing at the Olympics became more real.”

And now it is at her doorstep as she and Alyssa pack and get ready to go to London.

Like her Trojan Swim Club teammate Mellouli, Anderson will be racing in Hyde Park in front of a worldwide TV audience and over 30,000 spectators lining the banks of the Serpentine. “Ous works out so hard. He is so confident in himself and tough as nails. We workout together and it is good to have someone to talk to about open water swimming. It’s not easy, but that is what is fun about open water – you can talk about the races afterwards with others. It is important to discuss what happens out there with someone who understand what you are going through.”

Anderson has been through a lot in her short open water swimming career, from being fast-tracked onto the national open water team to completing a 25 km race in cold water (61°F / 16°C) at the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Canada. With the Olympics in London, the cooler side of the open water plays to her strengths. “I am totally fine with the cold water. It doesn’t bother me.”

Nothing much seems to bother Anderson whose DNA seems grounded in optimism and good-nature. She always emerges from the water – cold or warm, rough or calm, pool or open water – with a big smile on her face. “I’m always happy and I love to race.”

Just eliminate those turns and walls and the hard-working Anderson will be ready to race come August 9th.

Watch for her bright smile at the start … and the finish.

Melissa Gorman will hear this Australian cheer over and over again before the start of the Olympic marathon swimming 10km in the Serpentine on August 9th:

Leader: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”
Fans: “Oi! Oi! Oi!”
Leader: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”
Fans: “Oi! Oi! Oi!”
Leader: “Aussie!”
Fans: “Oi!”
Leader: “Aussie!”
Fans: “Oi!”
Leader (faster): “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”
Fans (equally fast): “Oi! Oi! Oi!”

Expect Gorman to rise to the occasion.

Although Australia is only the 53rd largest country in the world based on its population of 20 million people, when it comes to sports, the Aussie yellow and goal are frequently finishing at or near the top.  Relatively speaking, how small is the total population of Australia? The cities of Tokyo (Japan), Guangzhou (China), Jakarta (Indonesia), Seoul (Korea), Shanghai (China ), Mexico City, Delhi (India), New York, São Paulo (Brazil), Mumbai (India) and Manila (Philippines) are larger in terms of population.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Australia finished near the top of the medal count.

However, one sport where Australia uncharacteristically got shut out of the medals in 2008 was marathon swimming. For a country that has developed many great distance freestyle swimmers in the pool over the decades and for a society that has created has the greatest number of mass participation surf lifesaving festivals, surf carnivals and ocean swims along its gorgeous coasts, this is a missing chapter of its lengthy Olympic success.

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Melissa Gorman and her male teammate Ky Hurst are taking the proud Australian mantle and will carry the Aussie colors in the Serpentine on August 9th and 10th.

Gorman is a serious medal contender who has the size, speed, stamina, strength and savvy to not only climb onto the podium, but who can also pull off an upset of highly favored Keri-Anne Payne.

She can hang with the leaders, knows how to expertly draft off of Payne, can defend her position around the turns, and has a blazing speed at the finish.

While Hurst is long been considered to be in the top tier of the men’s field, he will need to swim the race of his life to beat Thomas Lurz, Spyridon Gianniotis and Ous Mellouli.

But his unorthodox training, competitive mindset, strength in holding his position and focused racing strategy gives him a dark horse shot at a medal.

Since his 9th place finish in Beijing, he is now faster and can close much better than before. Given the course over the last 600 meters in the Olympic venue, smart bets should not go against Hurst if he is within a body of the leaders.

Like Olympic heroes Murray Rose in 1956 and 1960, Dawn Fraser in 1964 and Ian Thorpe in 2000, if Gorman and Hurst win the Olympic 10km Marathon Swim, Australia will burst out in celebration and smile hugely with patriotic pride. The “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi!” chant will be heard far and wide.

If Gorman and Hurst do capture gold, their potential victories will be seen by a global television audience augmented by online coverage, tweets and Facebook messages. Their exploits will archived, their smiles will grace magazine covers, and their training regimens and race tactics will be analyzed. Their recollections will be recorded and repeated on television, newspapers, websites and blogs.

The personable duo, a ruggedly handsome male with striking green eyes, and the ever-smiling statuesque female with an infectious personality, would be wonderful media-friendly ambassadors of the sport.

Hurst is a true waterman, as comfortable swimming a 10 km as he is body surfing gnarly waves or paddle boarding over large ocean swells. Gorman is as comfortable swimming between buoy to buoy as she is running into the surf at an ocean festival or enjoying the company of young swimmers or older masters. Their smiles and words, so genuine, will be followed by many and inspire many more.

Australia kids will remember watching their victories and will be motivated to train harder and push themselves further.

Fans shall see on August 9th and 10th; watch for their swim caps in bright Aussie yellow among the leaders.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi!

As the clear-cut gold medal favorite in the Olympic Marathon Swimming 10km, Keri-Anne Payne faces the weight of Great Britain’s expectations at the 2012 London Olympic Games.   Payne possesses the smarts, tenacity, endurance and speed to meet these expectations. Time and time again in international competitions between 2008 and 2011, when the pressure is greatest and her competitors are primed, she has proven that her training, tactics and techniques are the best in the world.

Focused and quiet before her championship races, and intensively competitive in the water, Payne easily transforms into a media darling as she crawls out of the water. She is personable and accommodating with fans, and remains patience and friendly with the press.

Attractive with a quick smile and twinkle in her eyes, she has the look of a cover girl Olympian and is clearly one of open water swimming’s greatest ambassadors.

Underneath her calm veneer and physical elegance, she has the heart and drive of a champion that works hard day in and day out. Outside camera range and inside her training facilities, Payne has established herself for years as a tremendously hard worker.  A role model as a teammate, she puts in thousands of kilometers of gut-busting workouts, constantly building up lactic acid to almost impossible levels while ignoring the discomfort of endurance training.

From working on the tiny details of streamlined swimming techniques to macro issues such as race tactics and nutrition, she and her coaches leave no stone unturned in preparing for the Olympics as the gold medal favorite.

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Payne‘s signature race tactic is to push the pace right from the start and challenge her competitors to keep up with her.

Knowing this tactic in advance, the pressure to perform is transmitted from Keri-Anne to her rivals, creating a psychological edge that plays to her advantage.

But since she leads the races from the start, her position at the head of the pack also places additional pressure on her to utilize her exceptionally high navigational IQ.

One poor decision on navigation and her competitors can knock her off her pedestal. Even the slightest angle that she may swim off-course is an invitation to others who would gladly pounce on the opportunity.

But while her competition has continued to nip at her heels, they have also stayed behind her. For her navigational skills in the open water are second to none. From buoy to buoy or turn to turn, Keri-Anne is a true mariner, rarely moving off of the straight-line tangent between two points and playing all the elements, from the sun’s glare to the currents, as tools of her trade.

When combined with her well-developed aerobic conditioning and flat-out speed as an Olympic pool swimmer, Keri-Anne (#23 in the photo on right) also has repeatedly demonstrated intelligent race tactics in open water competitions. When her rivals start to close the gap on her, either on a straightaway or around a turn buoy, she does the small, often unseen moves that maintain the gap between her and second place. A slight veer, an increased kick, a higher arm turnover, these are the tactics that she effectively employs at all the right moments.

The sport, without a doubt, is physically demanding and rough like a mixture of rugby with marathon running. Elbows get thrown and body blows are given, sometimes intentionally and unintentionally. While tenacity is inherent in her DNA, Payne is never one to initiate physical contact. However, when faced with a belligerent rival, she also never backs down. Google-to-goggle or shoulder-to-shoulder, she is tough-nosed and uncompromising, confidently backing up her beauty with brains and, occasionally, brawn.

Her analytical approach to training and tough-as-nails approach to racing is what Keri-Anne Payne has come to represent. Armed with a media-friendly personality and smile, she deservedly stands tall among the elite echelon of open water swimmers.