The traditional Ohrid Swimming Marathon, which is part of the FINA Ultramarathon Series, will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the traditional site of St. Naum. The goal is at the port of Ohrid, and the famous "Klime Savin" trail in the length of 25 km is swimming.

After a break of one year due to the coronavirus crisis, this great sporting event returns and the elite of the world open water swimming will take part in it, including the domestic trump card Evgenij Pop Acev.

This year, the Ohrid Marathon is the first in the FINA 2021 World Series of Ultramarathons, because previous races were canceled, mainly due to the coronavirus crisis.

According to the website of the World Swimming Organization FINA, several big names will take part in this marathon. On the list is Marc-Antoine Olivier from France, world champion in five kilometers from 2017, bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He is also the winner of the 10 km World Series race in Doha 2021 as well as the sixth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Another Frenchman is among the favorites: Axel Raymond, the overall winner of the 2019 World Series of Ultramarathons. Among the favorites is Evgenij Pop Acev, multiple world champion in marathon swimming and the first Macedonian to triumph at the Ohrid Marathon (2015).

- The competition this year is really strong, but it is always like that in the Ohrid Marathon. I expect an interesting and uncertain race. I am well prepared and my ambition is to win a medal. I think there is a real chance I will do that - Pop Acev told us.

In the women's competition, the favorites are France's Ocean Casignol, runner-up in the 10km race in Doha, and Argentina's Pilar Heiho. There are a total of ten swimmers on the starting list. Aleksandar Ilievski and Leonid Mishevski from Macedonia will also participate. Participating countries are Argentina, Italy, Macedonia, France, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States. The prize pool is $ 10.000.

This marathon is followed by Capri-Napoli in the series of ultramarathons on September 5, and the last one will probably be Rosario, a race in Argentina that should take place in November. The Ultramarathon Series is races of 25 kilometers or more.

Next Saturday (August 28) a race from the FINA 10 km marathon series will be held in Ohrid. Otherwise, the last winners of the Ohrid Marathon in 2019 were Axel Raymond from France and Alice Franco from Italy. The Ohrid Marathon, since its renewal in 1992, has been held every year until 2020 when it was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis.

This year the organizer of the Ohrid Marathon is the Swimming Federation of Northern Macedonia.