The two Americans climbed as high as second and third through the first three laps of the four-lap course, maintaining a steady pace at the front of the pack throughout much of the race. However, the lead pack surged going into the final lap, with Warkentin and Kaufmann unable to hold onto the lead. Warkentin finished the race in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 15.28 seconds, and Kaufmann posted a time of 2:00:40.02.

“Those two guys went out there with a great attitude, and for 7,500 meters, they were in perfect position – as good as they could have been,” said Bill Rose, open water head coach. “It was a testament to their grit. I think they did what they had to do, but just didn’t have it in the last lap.

”You come here, you do the best you can, but there’s a long way to go.”

It was a photo finish for the gold medal, as Russia’s Vladimir Dyatchin edged out Germany’s Thomas Lurz by six-hundredths for the world title. Dyatchin finished with a time of 1:55:32.52, while Lurz crossed in 1:55:32.58. Dyatchin’s Russian teammate, Evgeny Drattsev, won the bronze medal in 1:55:47.31.

The Americans’ strategy was to be toward the front from the onset, which they were able to accomplish. However, Warkentin made an early move on the leader during the third lap, which seemed to sap his energy for the finish.

“Sometimes you just let the excitement of the moment get ahead of you, and I thought that I might have had enough to pull away from the group,” Warkentin said. “But I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught on the fourth lap, and I just got swallowed. It was a combination of getting overtaken, which is emotionally hard, and just getting pounded by the people coming around you.

“You can’t be too upset though. There are a lot of things I can do better, not just strategically, but also in training. I’m very confident for the 25K, based on what happened today. I know I lost, and I know I got beat on the last lap, but I’m going to do well in the 25K. It’s going to be a great race.”

Kaufmann said he missed his two scheduled feedings during the race – during the first and second laps – which would have supplied him with necessary energy.

“I took one of the gels I had stashed in my suit in hopes that would help, but I think replenishing with water or drinking Gatorade would have helped even more,” Kaufmann said. “I don’t think it was the whole reason, but it could have contributed.

“It was pretty fast most of the race, and the leaders were obviously doing most of the work. I think I used up my energy keeping myself in that position. When the group made their move somewhere between 6,500 and 7,000 meters, I fell to the back of the group, then they dropped me when they made their big push with a lap to go.”

After a two-day break, open water action continues Saturday with the women’s 25K. Olympian Kalyn Keller (Phoenix, Ariz. / Club Wolverine), who posted a ninth-place finish in the 10K on Tuesday, is scheduled to compete for Team USA.

Follow the link to read the usaswimming.org open water blog, brought to you by assistant coach Steve Munatones: http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?abId=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=1471&mid=3017.

Men’s 10K Results, brought to you by Omega Timing: http://www.omegatiming.com/openwater/racearchives/2007/melbourne2007/10_km_-_Mens_Results.pdf.

QUOTES:

Mark Warkentin
The 5K was brutal, and this one was strategic. There was a lot of jockeying, and for the first two laps, I did an excellent job. On the third lap, I got a little ahead, got a little bit excited. I lost my two-spot position and tried to take a shot at the lead. In retrospect, that was probably a bad move because there were so many people in the pack, and it was such a large pack, that I ended up pulling an awful lot of people. Sometimes you just let the excitement of the moment get ahead of you, and I thought that I might have had enough to pull away from the group. But I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught on the fourth lap, and I just got swallowed. It was a combination of getting overtaken, which is emotionally hard, and just getting pounded by the people coming around you. A lot of people saved their energy drafting off me on the third lap.

You can’t be too upset though. There are a lot of things I can do better, not just strategically, but also in training. My legs froze up towards the end of the third lap. During the third lap, I really worked my arms. I was trying to save my legs as much as I could for the fourth, but since the water temp is 65 degrees, my legs froze and stiffened up. When I went to them on the fourth lap when everyone else was going for it, I didn’t have the legs. In training, a lot of people can kick hard for 1,500 meters, but I need to be able to kick moderate for 15,000 meters. I tried to do it too much with arms and not enough with legs, and when I needed my legs at the end of the race, I didn’t have them there.

I’m very confident for the 25K, based on what happened today. I know I lost, and I know I got beat on the last lap, but I’m going to do well in the 25K. I’m positive of it. It’s going to be a great race. As far as the future, I know what I need to do training-wise, I know what I need to change, and I know how close I am to the best in the world. I made mistakes both tactically and in training that are easy to remedy. I’ll go back, do some things differently, and I think it’s going to make a world of difference.

Scott Kaufmann
I think we took what we learned from our mistakes from the 5K and applied them here. We executed the strategy well. Mark and I were up front for a good part of it, and unfortunately we couldn’t put the finishing touch on the race in the end.

It was pretty fast most of the race, and the leaders were obviously doing most of the work. I think I used up my energy keeping myself in that position. When the group made their move somewhere between 6,500 and 7,000 meters, I fell to the back of the group, then they dropped me when they made their big push with a lap to go.

The feedings on the swim may have played a role. I missed the feedings I was planning on. I was planning on feeding after one-and-a-half laps and after two-and-a-half laps. The feeding at one and a half, I was pushed to the outside. I was too far away from the dock to get anything that time. I was in good position the second time to take something, but I just missed the bottle. So right after that one, I took one of the gels I had stashed in my suit in hopes that would help, but I think replenishing with water or drinking Gatorade would have helped even more. I don’t think it was the whole reason, but it could have contributed.

Mark and I both have one swim to go. That’s going to be another tough one. There are some great guys in that race as well, so we’ll talk to the coaches, come up with a strategy, then try to follow it the best we can. Hopefully that will put us in a position to medal.

Bill Rose
Those two guys went out there with a great attitude, and for 7,500 meters, they were in perfect position – as good as they could have been. It was a testament to their grit. I’ll spend some time tonight trying to piece together exactly what happened. The first turn going into the last lap, they were gobbled up. Instead of coming out second and third, they came out somewhere in tenth to 12th position. In talking the little I have to Mark, he tried to put his kick on at that time, and he just flat out could not start his kick. He literally didn’t have anything left when he tried to put something on. Scott said that when he tried to make a move, he just didn’t have it. They didn’t have any glycogen left, nothing to work with. Their lactate tests showed that. Now that we look back, because the race was so tight, very few people were able to feed. They were concerned, and maybe rightfully so, about staying in the top three that they thought any kind of stoppage would have lost their position, and to try and get it back again would have been difficult. Bottom line, the first three laps, they were great. I think they did what they had to do, but just didn’t have it in the last lap.

If it was a situation where it was a feeding problem and they just flat out ran out of energy, our guys need to take that and really learn their limits. If they missed their feed, they should have taken a gel pack on their own and dealt with getting back in the race. They’re up against guys who know themselves, they know the race, they know their limits.

The plan was to stay up in front to have any chance, and that’s exactly what they did. It just didn’t seem to work. Had they stayed back, they would have gotten beaten up even more.

You come here, you do the best you can, but there’s a long way to go. I want people to understand what this sport has become. We have to work with it. No longer can we say, okay we’ll have someone come out and they’ll do a great job. It just isn’t that way anymore. Everyone is putting a lot more money into the sport because it’s an Olympic event. In Russia, they have dedicated open water swim schools where the top Russian athletes live, eat and train. We can’t do that in the U.S. because we’re plucking them out from who knows how many different pool clubs. But we need to find a way to match these efforts and actually make ourselves better.

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