Photo: Courtesy of organizers

Hong Junhao from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province claimed the 2019 Xingcheng open-water distance swimming race with a time of 2 hours, 13 minutes and 36 seconds on Sunday, followed by female American swimmer Lauren Tininenko with 2:22:38.

Both Hong and Tininenko were competing in their second Xingcheng open-water race.

The event in Xingcheng, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, featured a 10-kilometer race across the Xingcheng Strait, from the coastal city to Juehua Island in the Bohai Sea.

Another 670 swimming enthusiasts joined the five-kilometer experience race, as organizers hope it could boost the popularity of open-water swimming in the region.

Xingcheng is a county-level city in Huludao in southwestern Liaoning. It started to host the open-water swimming event in 2017.