Marathon swimmers to compete at Tokyo 2020 confirmed

The 50 marathon swimmers heading for the Olympic Games in Tokyo have been announced.

There will be 25 men and 25 women who will compete in the open water 10km event at Odaiba Marine Park on 4 and 5 August.

FINA’s confirmation of the final 50 follows the qualifiers for the last 15 places for both men and women in the Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier in Setubal, Portugal, on 19 June. The other swimmers qualified for Tokyo 2020 at the FINA World Championships in Gwangju in 2019.

The top contenders include Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, who is ranked first and is among the favourites to win, after his triumph in 2019 when he was crowned world champion in both 10km and 1500m events. But close on his heels is France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier. The Olympic bronze medallist finished just behind Wellbrook in the world championships. Among his other main rivals are Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky and Dutch reigning Olympic champion Ferry Weertman, ranked seventh.

In the women's race, reigning world champion, the People’s Republic of China’s XIN Xin is ranked first ahead of USA’s Haley Anderson and Italy’s Rachele Bruni. Other swimmers hoping to take home a medal include France’s Lara Grangeon and Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil. There will also be Hungary’s Anna Olasz, who came home first in Setubal ahead of Paula Ruiz of Spain in silver and Canada’s Kate Sanderson in bronze.

READ MORE: Ana Marcela Cunha: Brazil’s queen of marathon swimming

The men's competition saw victory for Great Britain's Hector Pardoe in 2:02.07.5 Athanasios Kynigakis from Greece was second followed by British swimmer Tobias Robinson in third. He was unable to qualify as only one athlete from each National Federation could secure a spot at this event. A total of 98 swimmers competed in Setubal.

At the Olympic Games there are no heats or preliminary rounds in marathon swimming. Instead, there is a mass start, with 25 swimmers in both the men’s and women’s events diving in for a 10km race over open water. The Odaiba Marine Park, which will also host triathlon, has stunning ocean views and a backdrop of Tokyo's cityscape.

READ MORE: Olympic Marathon Swimming at Tokyo 2020 - Everything you need to know

The 50 marathon swimmers to compete in Tokyo 2020

Men's race

Florian WELLBROCK (GER) - 1st Gwangju 2019
Marc-Antoine OLIVIER (FRA) - 2nd Gwangju 2019
Rob MUFFELS (GER) - 3rd Gwangju 2019
Kristof RASOVSZKY (HUN) - 4th Gwangju 2019
Jordan WILIMOVSKY (USA) - 5th Gwangju 2019
Gregorio PLATRINIERI (ITA) - 6th Gwangju 2019
Ferry WEERTMAN (NED) - 7th Gwangju 2019
Alberto MARTINEZ (ESP) - 8th Gwangju 2019
Mario SANZULLO (ITA) - 9th Gwangju 2019
David AUBRY (FRA) - 10th Gwangju 2019

Hector PARDOE (GBR) - 1st FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Athanasios KYNIGAKIS (GRE) - 2nd FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Matan RODITI (ISR) - 4th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Kai Graeme EDWARDS (AUS) - 5th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Taishin MINAMIDE (JPN) - 6th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Tiago CAMPOS (POR) - 7th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Kirill ABROSIMOV (RUS) - 8th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
David FARINANGO (ECU) - 9th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Oussama MELLOULI (TUN) - 10th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Michael McGLYNN (RSA) - 11th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Daniel DELGADILLO (MEX) - 12th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Matej KOZUBEK (CZE) - Europe slot - 18th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Hau-Li FAN (CAN) - America slot - 18th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
Philip SEIDLER (NAM) - Africa slot - 25th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier
William Yan THORLEY - Asia slot - 26th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier

Women's race

Xin XIN (CHN) - 1st Gwangju 2019 Haley ANDERSON (USA) - 2nd Gwangju 2019 Rachele BRUNI (ITA) - 3rd Gwangju 2019 Lara GRANGEON (FRA) - 4th Gwangju 2019 Ana Marcela CUNHA (BRA) - 5th Gwangju 2019 Ashley TWICHELL (USA) - 6th Gwangju 2019 Kareena LEE (AUS) - 7th Gwangju 2019 Finnia WUNRAM (GER) - 8th Gwangju 2019 Leonie BECK (GER) - 9th Gwangju 2019 Sharon van ROUWENDAAL (NED) - 10th Gwangju 2019

Anna OLASZ (HUN) - 1st FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Paula RUIZ BRAVO (ESP) - 2nd FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Kate SANDERSON (CAN) - 3rd FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Alice DEARING (GBR) - 4th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Angelica ANDRE (POR) - 5th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Cecilia BIAGIOLI (ARG) - 7th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Anastasiia KIRPICHIKOVA (RUS) - 8th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Samantha AREVALO (ECU) - 9th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Spela PERSE (SLO) - 11th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Yumi KIDA (JPN) - 12th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Michelle WEBER (RSA) - 15th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Paola PEREZ (VEN) - America slot - 17th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Krystyna PANCHISHKO – Europe slot - 18th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Li-Shan Chantal LIEW (SGP) – Asia slot - 29th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier Souad Nefissa CHEROUATI (ALG) – Africa slot - 30th FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier