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Sean Ryan, right, displays his 2013 World Championship gold medal and his 2011 gold medal for the team relay with McCallie swimming coach Stan Corcoran.The former McCallie School and University of Michigan All-American is among the 25 swimmers who will compete for 6.2 miles in less-than-desirable water for nearly two hours. This morning’s race (also called swimming marathon) starts at 8 EDT.
“He told me Saturday that he actually got into the water,” McCallie swim coach Stan Corcoran said. “He took some antibiotics and swam in the ocean. It was wavy, so he wanted to get some markers and get adjusted to the course.”
Conditions were calm during Monday morning’s 10k women’s race, which was in sharp contrast to last Friday and Saturday, when swells reached seven feet, according to Brazilian open-water specialist Ricardo Ratto.
“The Olympic course that was already set was destroyed,” Ratto told the Open Water Swimming website. “The starting platform was split into three parts that all came floating to the beach. The feeding platforms were destroyed as well.”
Officials worked Sunday to reset the course in time for the women’s race.
Corcoran said such setbacks are not uncommon and that the smaller field makes them easier to overcome. Among the 25 participants this morning are two Americans, Ryan and defending world champion and race favorite Jordan Wilimovsky.
“Sean actually does really well in bigger waves and has a lot of experience doing that,” Corcoran said. “I can’t speak for everybody else, but he usually does pretty well.”
According to the Open Water Swimming site, the air temperature for this morning’s race will be 77 degrees and the water temperature 70. A repeat of Monday’s calm conditions is expected, but Corcoran said elements can change open-water races in 30 minutes.
While Ryan gets under way in his race this morning, McCallie School students will begin a new year. The Olympic open-water race is not scheduled to be televised, but Corcoran said it will be streamed on televisions throughout the campus.
Corcoran and several of Ryan’s former Blue Tornado teammates, such as Mitchell Meek, David Clark, Wells Parker and Simon Parker, will gather in the school cafeteria to watch the race from start to finish. Corcoran has advised teachers not to do the same with their students.
“I’ve told everyone that the exciting part of the race will be the end, which should be from 9:35 to 9:55,” he said. “It’s a two-hour event that can get boring at times.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.