Unai Cocera and Sheila Pulido win the EMMAX Playa Honda open water swim

The coast of San Bartolome hosted a full morning of open water swimming on Saturday 29 August. The EMMAX Playa Honda swim once again filled the seafront promenade with competitors, families and spectators from early in the day, as part of the Lanzarote Open Water Cup.

First into the water were the swimmers tackling the 4 kilometre distance, which links Arrecife with Playa Honda and had sold out days before the event. The start came shortly after 10:30, and conditions made the crossing demanding: currents and a moderate swell forced swimmers to work hard all the way to the finish at Playa del Curita, where the crowd applauded every finisher.

In the non-wetsuit category, Unai Cocera Cordon took the men's win in 54:24, ahead of Daniel Lechuga and Althay Gonzalez. The women's title went to Sheila Pulido Mayor in 58:46, closely followed by Marta Armas and Sandra Nieves Medina. In the wetsuit classification, the overall winners were Raul Fernandez Ruiz (55:45) and Silvia Gopar Bonilla (1:03:31).

Once the long crossing was over, attention moved to the permanent circuit at Playa Honda for the 1,200, 800 and 400 metre races. Over 1,200 metres, Besay Delgado Hernandez won in 17:59 and Natalia Emilia Sasu stopped the clock at 18:53. In the 800 metres youth category, Lois Chantada and Nahia Escudero came out on top, with the 400 metres closing the morning's programme.

Swimming at Playa Honda on a normal day

The permanent circuit at Playa Honda is one of the island's busiest open water training spots outside race days, thanks to the sheltered bay and sandy bottom. For anyone new to the discipline, the Lanzarote Open Water Cup covers a wide range of distances, from 400 metres for the youngest categories up to 4 kilometres. This edition was a reminder that the long crossing calls for real sea experience: current and swell change the rhythm completely compared with a pool.