August
11, 2003
A.C. marathon swim champ stays current with some help
By BILL LeCONEY Staff Writer, (609) 272-7187, E-Mail
ATLANTIC CITY - It is and always will be - unless someone
discovers a bigger island - southern New Jersey's most
demanding athletic event.
Saturday's Atlantic City Around the Island Swim continued a
uniquely local, 50-year-old tradition contested by superbly
conditioned athletes from all over the world.
The local-international combination clicked perfectly for
Russian swimmer Yuri Kudinov, who won the 221/2-mile FINA
World Cup marathon in 7 hours, 36 minutes, 34 seconds.
Kudinov, in his first attempt to circle Absecon Island,
earned a $5,010 first-place prize and 20 points toward the
World Cup rankings.
Kudinov was lucky to have a rower in his lifeguard boat who
knew the tricky course better than just about anybody.
Ventnor Beach Patrol captain Bill Howarth, 48, was a
last-minute replacement for a young Avalon lifeguard who
fell ill.
Howarth, who swam the race three times in the early 1980s,
expected to follow this year's race as a spectator, not with
the close-up view of a participant leading the way for the
pre-race favorite.
"They told me the guy was pretty fast," Howarth
said of Kudinov, a four-time 25-kilometer world champion.
"I figured he was the best guy to hook up with because
I wouldn't be on the boat as long."
Howarth had to make some minor rowing adjustments on the
course. He had two oars, a pair of gloves and a jar of
Vaseline rushed out to him by a Ventnor colleague during the
ocean leg.
Kudinov dueled with Bulgaria's Petar Stoychev, who took the
lead in the ocean near the Steel Pier and held a comfortable
advantage around the Longport jetty and into the island's
calmer, warmer back bays.
Howarth's knowledge came into play in the Venice Park
section of Atlantic City. He guided Kudinov to the middle of
the thoroughfare to catch the current near the Albany Avenue
bridge, then veered him toward shore at the Expressway
bridge to keep him out of the path of the stronger incoming
tide.
Stoychev, with four trips around the island in the last five
years, followed his own instincts and made the tactical
error of straying too far from shore. Kudinov passed him,
held off a late Stoychev charge and won by 50 seconds.
Howarth said Kudinov swam like a machine, stopping for maybe
40 refreshment breaks lasting three seconds each. Howarth
said he greeted the exhausted 24-year-old after the race:
"You sure look tired, but I bet you feel better than I
do."
Howarth took little credit for Kudinov's victory. "I
made a few good moves for him with some brainwork, but he
did all the physical work. We made a pretty good team."
Another first-timer, 20-year-old Natalia Pankina, captured
the women's race, completing a Russian sweep of the $30,100
swim. Angela Maurer won a grudge match with fellow German
Britta Kamrau for second place, then called the swim
"the hardest race in the world" because of the
variable conditions: The ocean and the cold water; the tides
and the currents; the warm water in the back bay, then the
cold water again in the last 400 meters. ... And the
strongest current of the race is at the end where you swim
for your life."
American Emily Watts was the last swimmer on the course,
completing the circuit in about 101/2 hours. The other
American professional, Sean Seaver, finished in 91/2 hours.
"I've never seen anybody so tired and cold," race
director Michael Giegerich said of the 22-year-old Seaver
from Washington. "He wanted to finish, that was his
goal. The kid's tough as nails."
Giegerich, in his second year as race director, put the swim
back on solid ground after it nearly crashed the year
before. The purse, as well as the cancellation of three
other marathon races this year, made it one of the most
important swims on the FINA World Cup schedule.
"The swimmers were very, very pleased," Giegerich
said. "They've come here before and were promised
purses, and they (race organizers) didn't have the money.
"We came up big, from the city to all the local people
and businesses that donated, to the safety personnel from
the Coast Guard, police and fire departments,"
Giegerich said. "It makes us look good around the world
because this is an international event. It's also a great
local event, and we had to keep it going."
NOTE: Giegerich said 42-year-old Trish Lane from Maryland,
who attempted the swim as an amateur, was hospitalized
overnight with fluid in her lungs but was expected to be
released Sunday.
To e-mail Bill LeConey at The Press:
WLeconey@pressofac.com
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