SWIMMING Preview: Marathon Swim World Series starts in Doha on Saturday

The nine-leg FINA Marathon Swim World Series starts this week in Qatar with the big stars of the open-water division ready to go for the 2019 season. The start list includes 135 swimmers, with:

Men:
● Jack Burnell (GBR) ~ 2018 World Series runner-up
● Simone Ruffini (ITA) ~ 2016-17 World Series Champion
Jordan Wilimovsky (USA) ~ 2015 World 10 km Open Water Champion
● Florian Wellbock (GER) ~ 2018 European 1,500 m Freestyle gold medalist
● Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic 1,500 m Freestyle gold medalist
● Ferry Weertman (NED) ~ 2018 World Series Champion

Women:
● Arianna Bridi (ITA) ~ 2017 World Series Champion
● Rachele Bruni (ITA) ~ 2015-16 World Series Champion
● Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) ~ 2010-12-14-18 World Series Champion
● Angela Maurer (GER) ~ 2007-08 World Series Champion
● Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) ~ Rio 2016 Olympic 10 km Champion
Haley Anderson (USA) ~ 2012 Olympic 10 km Open Water silver medalist

The course is a fairly standard 2,500 m loop at the Doha Corniche. Prize money is available to the top eight finishers at $3,500-3,000-2,500-1,700-1,500-1,200-950-650.

Look for results here.