Tunisia's Mellouli named best open water swimmer of the year

Tunis, Jan 7 (IANS) Tunisia's Olympic swimmer Oussama Mellouli was named best open water swimmer of the year by FINA.

Mellouli made history this summer when he won the first Olympic swimming 10km marathon in London. He finished the distance in 1:49:55 winning his second Olympic gold medal after the one he earned in Beijing in 2008 over the 1500m race, reports Xinhua.

FINA's other distinguished swimmers include US swimmers Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin, Russia's Natalia Ishchenko (synchronized swimming), and China's Wu Minxia (diving).

The 28-year-old Olympic champion who won the Best Sportsman of the Year Award in Tunisia, declared he was retiring from international competition shortly after winning his second Olympic gold medal in London.