Fina open water marathon swim world series - Payet brothers confident of good results |18 May 2018

Payet brothers – Damien and Bertrand ‒ are the only two Seychellois who will swim against the more than 60 foreign stars in Sunday’s second leg of the Fina open water marathon swim world series.

This will be their second appearance and they will be counting on the support of every Seychellois to achieve a good result in their homeland. Sunday’s event will take place at Beau Vallon, in the sea between the Savoy Resort & Spa and La Plage restaurant, starting at 8am.

The two brothers made their debut in the series in Doha, Qatar in the first leg on …… but unfortunately they were credited with ‘no finish’ after finishing outside the time limit, but they remain optimistic for the second leg as they will be swimming in front of their home fans.

Sports NATION met the two brothers prior to a training session yesterday afternoon at the Roche Caïman pools and they said they are confident they can finish inside the time limit.

“I will try my best and I’m hoping to finish within the time limit so that I can travel more and participate in other legs of the series. For me, the first leg was more like a practice as I was taking part for the time, but I tried my best and I’m happy. On Sunday, I’m just going to go into the race, try my best and try to stay within the time limit,” 14-year-old Damien told Sports NATION.

As for big brother Bertrand, he said he is used to the water at Beau Vallon and hopes to do better than in Doha.

“I’m used to the water at Beau Vallon and I feel at home here, so I hope I can do better than last time. I’ve been training hard for this competition and I’m going to try my best. One day, I hope I’ll be able to do better against the current competitors and this early start allows me to get more experience,” said the 16-year-old.

For the main event on Sunday May 20, the world’s best swimmers will take part in the 10km races. The women’s race will begin at 8am while the men’s will start at 11.30am.

It will be interesting to see if Netherlands swimmers Ferry Weertman (1h52:41.60) and Sharon Van Rouwendaal (2h02:24.40) who won the men’s and women’s races in Doha can make it two victories in a row on Sunday.

Sunday’s races will be followed by a post-race prize-giving ceremony at 3.15pm and a gala dinner at 7pm.

The remainder of the series is due to take place in Setubal (Portugal, June 9), Balatonfüred (Hungary, June 16), Lac St. Jean (Canada, July 26), Lac Megantic (Canada, August 11), Chun’An (China, September 16), Taiwan (September 22) and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates, November 24).

Seychelles will be hosting the Fina/Hosa marathon swim world series for four consecutive years and it is hoped that the organisation of the event will raise the island nation’s visibility as a tourist destination.

Meanwhile, tomorrow, there will be a mass competition and the first set of races is due to start at 9.30am with the female and male 100m races. This will be followed by the male and female 500m, 1000m and 2500m races.

The following are male and female winners of all the year’s seven legs raced in 2017:

Men

First Leg: February 4 (Patagones, Argentina) - Federico Vanelli (Italy) – 1h57:02.42

Second Leg: March 11 (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) – Jack Burnell (Great Britain) – 1h45:54.60

Third Leg: June 24 (Setubal, Portugal) - Kristof Rasovszky (Hungary) – 1h29:50.97

Fourth Leg: July 27 (Lac St-Jean, Canada) –Simone Ruffini (Italy) – 1h56:11.10

Fifth Leg: August 12 (Lac Mégantic, Canada) - Kristof Rasovszky (Hungary) – 1h58:18.08

Sixth Leg: October 15 (Chun'An, China) - Kristof Rasovszky (Hungary) – 1h31:52.40

Seventh Leg: October 21 (Hong Kong, China) – Rob Frederik Muffels (Germany) – 1h53:10.40

Women 

First Leg: February 4 (Patagones, Argentina) - Arianna Bridi (Italy) – 2h11:30.42

Second Leg: March 11 (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) – Aurelie Muller (France) – 1h52:35.30

Third Leg: June 24 (Setubal, Portugal) – Rachele Bruni (Italy) – 1h37:36.28

Fourth Leg: July 27 (Lac St-Jean, Canada) - Arianna Bridi (Italy) – 2h03:15.50

Fifth Leg: August 12 (Lac Mégantic, Canada) - Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) – 2h06:12.86

Sixth Leg: October 15 (Chun'An, China) - Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) – 1h37:29.20

Seventh Leg: October 21 (Hong Kong, China) - Arianna Bridi (Italy) – 2h02:12.60

R. R.