It might sound strange when it is said about an open water swimmer that she is a good sprinter, but this applies to Britta Kamrau of Germany. At the recent World Championships in Dubai, Kamrau defeated Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands in the home stretch of the 25km event. Kamrau stopped the timer at 5:43:09.6 hours of work, only one tenth of a second ahead of van Dijk. This was Kamrau’s second triumph at these Worlds after winning the 10km race. “I still need time to realize what happened,” said the athlete born in 1979 after capturing her second title. “My overall performances here exceeded my best expectations. Now, I’ll start to prepare for the FINA World Championships next summer in Montreal,” confessed the German swimmer who will attempt to add to the six medals she already won. Last year, Kamrau was named open water “Female Athlete of the Year”.

At age 20, Brendan Capell of Australia became a World Champion before even becoming a National Champion. Capell surprised the experienced leaders who took the start of the 25km event in Dubai in December 2004 to capture his first world title. In 2003, the young athlete placed 12th at the World Championships. This Spring, Capell put things back in order, winning the Australian championship title. The Brisbane native thus sent a message to the whole world: he’s ready to defend his title in Montreal. “I have finished university now and at the moment the only thing in my life is swimming,” said Capell. “I have been able to dedicate all my time to training and have become so much more consistent with everything I do.” The Australian now swims 70 kilometres per week on average. “I’m even more fit than in Dubai.”

Christian Hein could be nicknamed the “silver swimmer” but that’s surely not the type of reputation he wants to carry after Montreal. The German athlete has won three silver medals at World Championships. In Barcelona in 2003, he placed second in the 5km and 10km events and added a third silver medal in the 5km event in 2004 in Dubai. Last summer in Athens, Hein placed 10th in the 400m freestyle and 12th in the 1,500m freestyle event.

Edith Van Dijk’s career in open water competition is impressing. Since 1998, the 31-year-old swimmer won 11 medals at six FINA World Championships. Four times she became World Champion, including a double victory in 2000 in the 10km and 25km events. In Dubai, in December 2004, Van Dijk conceded victory to Britta Kamrau in the 25km event by only a tenth of a second. The Dutch swimmer was very satisfied to climb on a podium in the summer of 2004 after recovering from a viral infection to resume training only three months before the World Championships. Van Dijk and Kamrau will meet again in Montreal.

At only age 16, Russian Larisa Iichenko has won the 5km open water event at the FINA World Championships in Dubai in December 2004. “It was my first time at the World Championships, so this victory has a special taste,” said Iichenko after the race. “I didn’t adopt any special tactics, I used the power of the heart to take advantage of my most direct challengers,” added the Russian who has been swimming since age five. This was a first victory for Russia in an open water event at the World Championships.

It’s hard to introduce Anastasia Davydova without including her team mate Anastasia Ermakova. Both Russian swimmers have trained together for over six years. They have won the 1999 and 2001 world junior titles together, placed second at the 2001 World Championships, won the World Championships in 2003 and the Olympic gold medal in 2004. Since she was six, Davydova has spent most of her time practicing synchronized swimming. Every day, she averages eight hours in the pool and spends an hour at the gym. It’s no surprise she and her partner cumulated eight perfect marks in their final program presentation in Athens. Davydova also won a gold medal in the team event at the last Olympic Games.

In Athens, Anastasia Ermakova grabbed the final title she was missing: an Olympic gold medal. She won two events, capturing both the duet and the team titles. With partner Anastasia Davydova, she had already won a World Championships title (2003), a World Cup title (2004) and a pair of World Junior Championships titles (1998 and 2001). Only the Olympic triumph was missing and she did it with style. The Anastasias earned eight perfect marks out of 10 for their final program. On her way to Beijing, the 22 year-old will attempt to beat Virginie Dedieu of France for the solo crown, the only title she did not win in Barcelona.

A modern dance professor convinced Virginie Dedieu to try synchronized swimming. If the French swimmer immediately fell under the charm of the sport, she never adapted to the use of a nose plug. “I had the impression that I was choking,” writes the Aix native on her website. “My solution was to simply swim without it.” It’s as if Virginie had never lost her apnea reflexes.

In Montreal, the soloist will defend the world title she won in Barcelona in 2003, after failing at her attempts in 1998 and 2001. Bronze medallist with Myriam Lignot in the duet event in Sydney, Dedieu placed fifth in Athens with her new team mate Laure Thibaud. Virginie studies interior architecture.

Since 1994, Miho Takeda is a fixture at every important synchronized swimming meet. The Japanese swimmer took part in her first World Championships that year, where she won the bronze medal in the team event. “Take” has since won no less than six World Championships medals, including a gold medal in Fukuoka in the duet event and five Olympic medals, including a pair of silver medals in Athens (duet and team). Born in 1976, Takeda has been swimming since age seven. She studies Social sciences at Ritsumeikan University.

At age 30, Miya Tachibana has had a full sporting career. She collects medals with her partner Miho Takeda since 1994. Their consecration as a pair came at the 2001 World Championships when they won their only world title, at home in Fukuoka. In 10 years, Tachibana has won four Olympic silver medals and a bronze medal. She has also earned nine World Championships medals. Apart from her 2001 victory, she has won five silver medals in duet or team events and three bronze medals in team or solo events. Miya is studying commerce and enjoys cooking.

When she set foot at the Athens Olympic Games, Malia Metella had one objective in mind: making it to the final. “Once there, anything is possible,” said the Guyana native competing under France’s banner. She proved herself right after she captured a silver medal in the 50m freestyle race and placed fourth in the 100m freestyle. The 23-year-old athlete, nicknamed the “Guyanese Mermaid”, was initiated to swimming by her mother in a relative’s pool in Cayenne. Her mother’s presence in the stands in Athens added to the smiling athlete’s happiness. “I’m happy that my mother could see me win that medal,” she told Reuters after the 50m freestyle. “Before that, the Games were to her what they’ve been for me: a wonderful show to watch on television.”

At only 16 years old, Federica Pellegrini from Italy earned a podium at her first Olympic Games in Athens. The young Italian swimmer won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle event, her first international triumph. This medal propelled the Mirano (Venice) native to the category of Italian swimming prodigy where she became the youngest athlete in her country’s history to win an Olympic medal in an individual event. Federica will turn 17 on August 5 and she’ll be under pressure to prove that she’s not a flash in the pan. On a more personal note, the apparently timid Federica confesses a love for rock group Metallica.

A specialist of the freestyle events, Italy’s Filippo Magnini won the bronze medal at the Athens Olympic Games in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay alongside Massi Rosolino, Federico Cappellazzo and Matteo Pellicciari. In the 4 x 100m relay, Team Italy placed fourth, whereas Magnini had a fifth-place finish in his best event, the 100m freestyle. At age 23, the Pesaro native will take part in his second FINA World Championships this summer. The 1.86 m athlete loves to read and play volleyball in his spare time.

The 2000 Olympic Games were a highlight in Massimiliano Rosolino’s career. In Sydney, Massi won three medals, one of each colour, and set an Olympic record in the 200m individual medley. Two years later he returned to the nation that witnessed his triumph to train with Ian Pope in Melbourne. This marked Rosolino’s second stay in the land of the kangaroos after he lived there with his family during his youth. In Athens, Rosolino’s only podium was in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay. Rosolino loves fashion so much that he took some time off swimming to work as a model to present Laura Biagotti’s collection in Milan in the Summer of 2002.

Specialist in the 400m individual medley, Alessio Boggiatto twice placed fourth at the Olympic Games in Sydney and in Athens. Between these two meets, the Turin native won a world title at the 1991 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Nicknamed Boggia, he studies economics and commerce. The 24-year old speaks French, English and Italian. He began swimming at age eight.

Was David Davies lucky to win an Olympic medal? The Cardiff native could almost answer yes! At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, he took part in the 1500m freestyle event simply to give himself more experience at his first international meet. This moment was a turning point in the young man’s career. He shaved 50 seconds off his personal best time and the event became his specialty. Before this important transition, Davies wasn’t even thinking about the Olympics. Not only did he qualify for the Games but he also won a bronze medal after falling behind Grant Hackett and Larsen Jensen of the United States. Young Davies (only 20 years old) aims for a gold medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

At age 28, Chantelle Newbery is collecting firsts for Australia. When she captured the gold medal on the 10-meter platform at the Athens Olympic Games, Newbery became the first Australian diver to win an Olympic title. The 1,53 meter (5’0’’) diver was also the first Australian athlete to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and the first Aussie to win a medal at the Goodwill Games. In Athens, she won the bronze medal in the synchronized diving event (3-meter) alongside Irina Lashko.

Married to diver Robert Newbery, Chantelle gave birth to her first child, a boy named Jet, in January 2002. Chantelle considers herself to be very superstitious after she was involved in a car accident on a Friday 13th.

Loudy Tourky got rid of her demons at the 2005 Australian National Trials. For the first time since the Athens Games, the Israeli-born athlete attempted an armstand dive and succeeded. In the 10-meter platform event final in Greece, Tourky had missed her attempt and dropped to third place. This bronze medal was her second Olympic success after also placing third in the 10-meter synchronized diving event in Sydney. It’s quite a journey for the 25-year-old diver who has always been afraid of heights. Tourky was frightened when she began diving off the tower but surely enough, she tamed her fears and she now enjoys coming down the 10-meter platform. She will team up with Olympic champion Chantelle Newbery for the 10-meter synchronized diving event.

It’s hard to tell who between American Greg Louganis and Russian Dmitri Sautin is the best diver in history. One thing is certain, Sautin is the only active one of the two. With seven Olympic medals including two first-place finishes, he’s the most decorated diver in the history of the Games. The Russian athlete has also won eight medals at four World Championships. Sautin began diving at age seven and now at 31 years old, diving has certainly taken its toll on his body, with injuries to his shoulder, wrist and back during his career. Many expected him to walk away following his fourth Olympic Games, but Sautin will be in Montreal to defend his crown in the 3-meter synchronized diving event.

Centre Revaz Chomakhidze is known for his winning goal with five seconds to go in the 2002 World Cup final which enabled Russia to edge Hungary. In Athens, Chomakhidze made the difference in Russia’s bronze medal victory. The right-hander’s four goals lifted his team to a 6-5 win over Greece. This was the 31-year-old Moscow native’s second Olympic medal, following a silver medal performance four years earlier in Sydney.

At age 23, Cosmin Radu of Romania has over 130 international games to his credit. The centre player is one of the best Romania had to offer in its unsuccessful bid to qualify for the Athens Olympic Games. In Barcelona, his team placed 12th. The 1.92m, 96kg left-hander competes in the Italian professional circuit. On the academic side, Radu holds a University Degree in Economics.

Igor Hinic of Croatia has experienced the highs and lows of his National Team. In 1996, Croatia won the silver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games but placed seventh in Sydney four years later before dropping to a 10th place finish in 2004 in Athens. The veteran and captain of the Croatian squad started playing at age 10. A decade later, he joined the ranks of his country’s National Team to play in his first international match in 1985. For the last four years, the 2.03m right-handed athlete has competed in the Italian professional circuit. Hinic is married and studies in Geodesy.

Tony Azevedo’s journey has enough twists and turns to inspire film producers. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1981, he was only two months old when his parents moved to California. Tony had a brush with death at four, suffering a nearly fatal torn trachea after falling on a metal cage. His heart stopped beating for four minutes and he was pronounced dead. "Even after he was revived, the doctors told us he might have brain damage," Libby Azevedo, his mother, says. "He'd certainly never do any sports, they said." But in 2000, Babyfoot (Tony’s nickname) became the youngest member of the U.S. water polo National Team. He has been elected by the press as a member of the all-rookie team. The U.S. placed sixth in Sydney and slid one spot down to seventh position at the end of the 2004 Olympic tournament in Athens.

Since 2003, the Greek water polo National Team has been close to the podium. Centre Georgios Afroukadis saw his team place fourth at the 2003 World Championships and at the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2000, Afroukadis and his team mates placed 10th while in Atlanta in 1996, Greece finished sixth. Afroukadis, 29, has been playing water polo since he was 11. He studies Economics at the University of Athens. In the water, Afroukadis benefits from a 1.94m and 100kg frame.

In important matches, Heiko Nossek always seems able to rise to the occasion and enable his team to win. For instance, the 23-year-old scored twice to push Germany ahead of Spain by one goal (6-5) to place fifth at the 2004 Olympic tournament in Athens. The year before, Nossek scored five times against Romania at the World Championships. Germany placed 11th that year but Nossek, a second division player in Germany, wowed the crowds with his shooting accuracy and power.

At age 13, Thomas Whalan was fed up with swimming and bored with simply going up and down the pool. In his search for something more exciting, he found water polo. The 24-year-old athlete will participate in his third World Championships this summer in Montreal. He also took part in two Olympic tournaments as his teams placed eighth in Sydney and ninth in Athens. In 2000, he was named as one of the top 5 up and coming international players by Water Polo Magazine. Since 2003, he has played for a professional team in Spain where he led the league in scoring in his first season with Athletic Barceloneta.

At age 30, Gabriel Hernandez has good international experience. He took part in his first World Championships in 1994 in Rome where Hernandez and the Spaniards placed second. This was a prelude to the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, where Spain won the event. Two years later in his hometown of Barcelona, Hernandez had to contend with a fifth-place finish after placing fourth at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At his second Olympic Games, Hernandez and Co. placed sixth. The right-hander speaks Spanish, Catalan, English, Italian and a bit of French.

Alberto Angelini is one of the most experienced players on the Italian National Team. Since he started playing water polo at age 10 with the local Savona club, Angelini has taken part in three Olympic Games. His career highlights include a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and at three World Championships. In 2003 in Barcelona, the Italians lost in overtime to Hungary to finish second. In Athens, the team placed eighth, one of the worst international results ever for Italy and for Angelini, a big Lenny Kravitz fan.