Ho wins FINA 10km MSWC Series
As one of the youngest competitors in the field, Chad Ho became the first South African to claim the overall title of the 2010 FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup and took home an awesome amount of $20 000 (R138 707) prize money.
The eight-legged World Cup Series began in Santos, Brazil, on January 31
where Ho finished in second position in a time of 2:14:12.44, only 0.41
of a second behind Russia's Evgeny Drattsev who ended in 2:14:12.03.
Ho continued to the second leg of the World Cup in Viedma, Argentina, on February 6, bringing home the silver medal in a time of 1:51:00, followed by a
fourth place finish at the Setubal leg in Portugal on June 26.
The fourth leg in Lac St-Jean, Canada, on July 25 proved to be a very
tough race as the water temperature was a low 16 degrees. Suffering a mild
hypothermia after the event, Ho came out to claim the bronze medal in
2:05:20.70.
Ho ended fourth at the Shantou leg in China on September 25 followed by a
golden performance at the Hong Kong leg on October 3. Winning the leg with
the highest time difference of all the swims, Ho raced a full 27 seconds
ahead of the pack clocking 2:03:54.40. Germany's Thomas Lurz took the silver
in 2:04:21.50.
Moving to the second last leg in Cancun, Mexico, on October 9 and competing
against 35 other swimmers, Chad secured a fifth place finish in 2:08:06.3.
The final leg of the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup took place in
Fujairah, UAE, on October 23 where Ho finished sixth overall but the high
water temperature of over 33 degrees caused dehydration among many of the
swimmers. It was also where open water swimmer Fran Crippen (USA) tragically
lost his life.
"I finished on a high note, being the winner of the Series, but was
overwhelmed by the sudden and tragic loss of my friend and fellow competitor
Fran Crippen," said Ho.
With a total of 122 points accumulated over the eight legs, Chad Ho became
the overall winner of this year's FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup.
"Doing the World Cup Series this year has given me the opportunity to race
against the best of the best. It has also given me a better understanding of
what I need to do to be the best of the best"
"I want to thank SASCOC and Swimming South Africa for giving me this
opportunity and assisting me to reach my goal for the 2012 Olympics. I
strive to continue making South Africa proud," said Ho.
Chad Ho has also been nominated for the Open Water Swimming Man of the Year
award.
To vote for Chad, please visit
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http://www.openwatersource.com/vote-for-the-world-open-water-swimming-man-of
-the-year.html