PHOTOS: Sergio Betancort
The Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife celebrated this Friday the XX anniversary of the crossing with more history of the Open Water Cup of Lanzarote, with a new record of participants and a massive participation of spectators.
At 5:30 p.m. the mini category test started, focused on the initiation of swimming in open waters for the smallest athletes, who demonstrated their qualities, all being awarded with a diploma of participation and sharing the podium.
The next category to start from the yacht club itself was the Benjamin category, which after covering the 400 meters marked by the competition had Ana Gómez as the winner, Amelia Robayna in second position, a swimmer from the club itself, and Noa Magliocchetti in third position. In the men's category, the winner was Oscar Martín Lemes, second Iñigo Santamaría Fernández and in third position Javier Betancort Rodriguez.
In the 800-meter distance for the children's category, the winner was Tia Wilson Gibbs, followed by Sara González Cabrera and Alexandra Vidodo. For his part, in the men's category, the podium was for Saúl González Ortega, in second position Adriel Mateo and Joan Hernández Curbelo completed the podium.
The main event
Without a doubt, the expectation was in the 1,200-meter race, with more than 300 participants waiting for the start from La Rocar, where Jorge Robayna aspired to achieve victory in his own home, with his people and his club celebrating the twentieth anniversary. In the first 300 meters from the start he swam very hard, breaking the group immediately from the start, followed only by three swimmers, among whom was José Rey Valera, who came from Fuerteventura to try to get a place on the podium.
In the second 400 meters, after crossing the bridge of the balls, it was the visitor himself who dominated the race with a Jorge Robayna stuck to his feet, waiting for the moment to attack again, and he did so with 300 meters to go before going up the last buoy for the final straight to the finish line of 200 meters.
Among the boats in the bay, Robayna was overtaking José Rey Valera, who could do nothing against his rival, who entered the buoy from the inside and finished the race with an impressive pace in the last 200 meters, entering the finish line taking about three bodies to his followers. The second and third place went to Jesús Gómez and Bradley Ibrahim, who ended up overtaking the already worn José Rey, who had to settle for fourth place.
In the general women's category, the dominance was absolute for the swimmer Anne Wilson, who dominated during the 1,200 meters, leaving Marta Santana without a chance, who entered five seconds later to win the second place on the podium, while Darleen Faust, one minute later, took third place.
Two stages away from the end of the cup, everything points to Jorge Robayna being the Open Water Champion of Lanzarote for the second consecutive year. Baptized as "torpedo" Robayna by his family and followers, he won this XX San Ginés Swimming Crossing 2014.
Trophies and recognition to a veteran of this event
To end the afternoon. the President of the Arrecife Yacht Club paid tribute to Olga Armas, who has swum all the crossings made to date, with a special trophy of the emblematic bridge of the balls, a symbol of the San Ginés Crossing and the island's capital.
The awards ceremony was accompanied by the Councilor for Sports of the Arrecife City Council, Paca Toledo, the Deputy Mayor, José Montelongo, who also participated in the popular crossing, and Oscar Luzardo, senator for Lanzarote.
With music and tapas, this San Ginés swimming crossing was closed as night fell, after almost a thousand people enjoyed a sports day at the facilities of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife, which has several events ahead within the San Ginés festivities.