LAC MÉGANTIC, Quebec – Six Canadian open water swimmers competed in the third leg of the 2022 FINA Marathon Swim World Series at Lac Mégantic Saturday.

Tokyo Olympian Hau-Li Fan of the High Performance Centre – Vancouver ranked highest amongst the Canadians, finishing 11^th in the men’s 10-km race in 1:51:38.21. Fan placed 17^th in the 10-km open water marathon at the 2022 FINA World Championships in June.

Athletes swam five laps around a 2-km loop. The men’s race was delayed by a few minutes due to a malfunctioning airhorn forcing the 21 men to wait in the water. The women’s race, consisting of 14 swimmers, followed a few minutes behind the men’s pack.

National Open Water and Distance Coach Mark Perry was impressed by the performances in the men’s field.

“That was a strong race from Hau-Li Fan,” Perry said. “He finished within touching distance of the lead pack. He had a very good race near the end. He lost his goggles, which caused some discomfort but overall it was a good race. It was a good learning experience for the others in the field.”

Liam Clawson-Honeyman of Gatineau, Que. finished the race in 17^th in 1:57.30.18. Raben Dommann of HPC-Vancouver touched in 18^th in 1:57.32.25.

Domenico Acerenza of Italy out touched Nicholas Slomanof Australia and David Bethlehem of Hungary to win gold in the men’s 10-km event in 1:50:50.83. Sloman captured silver in 1:50:51.68 and Bethlehem earned bronze in 1:50:52.00.

On the women’s side, Megan Frost and Megan Willar of Pointe-Claire, Que. placed 13^th in 2:14:22.78 and 14^th in 2:15:05.22.

Frost and Willar used this event as an opportunity to practice race strategy against international competitors prior to the 2022 FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Beau Vallon, Seychelles in September.

“In the women’s field, the two young girls from Pointe-Claire were swimming against the best athletes in the world,” Perry said. “It was great practice for them for the World Junior Championships which is their main race coming up. This was really a training swim for them.”

Sharon Van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands took gold in the women’s 10-km race in 2:01:03.04 followed closely by Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy in 2:01:09.70. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil placed third in 2:01:23.00.

Marc-Antoine Olivier of France and Sebastian Paulins of Canada did not finish the course.

The fourth leg of the FINA Marathon Swim World Series will take place from October 7-9 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Full results: https://www.fina.org/competitions/2918/fina-marathon-swim-world-series-2022/results?event=a7bb2a37-23bd-4d34-b13c-22c8ee1b67a7

Watch the race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmoqdlFpv6I&feature=youtu.be