Canada has never qualified a swimmer for any open-water event at the Olympics. Don’t bet against Richard Weinberger of Victoria being the first Canuck to do so.

The rapidly emerging 10K star continues leaving a splashy imprint on the path to the 2012 London Summer Games.

So much so he may be edging in to join pool swimmer Ryan Cochrane, triathlete Paula Findlay and rowers David Calder, Malcolm Howard and Lindsay Jennerich as an Island-based podium threat for London 2012.

Weinberger, who has yet to qualify for the Olympics despite recording some of the most impressive and noteworthy results of the past year, took another big stroke toward London by winning the bronze medal at the World Cup race Sunday in Santos, Brazil.

It was a near blanket finish as the UVic/Pacific Coast Club swimmer was across in two hours, 11 minutes, 42.34 seconds, behind world champion Spyros Gianniotis of Greece (2:11:39.51) and second-place Nicola Bolzonello of Italy (2:11:41.44).

The race featured seven swimmers who have qualified for the Olympics and Weinberger placed ahead of six of them.

That followed Weinberger’s victory last summer in the official Olympic test race in the Serpentine at Hyde Park and his gold medal in the 2011 Pan American Games at Guadalajara, Mexico.

‘’I’m very excited about this performance. It gives me a lot of confidence and it proves my strong results last year were no fluke,’’ Weinberger said in a statement.

“To be racing side by side and keeping pace with a guy like [world champion] Spyros was exhilarating. There is still a long journey ahead, but with continued serious training and hard work, I feel one day I can surpass him.”

The 21-year-old Victorian already has accomplished that in beating Spyros Gianniotis — and also world championships silver-medallist Thomas Lurz of Germany — last year in the Olympic test race at London.

But that came after the 2011 world championships in Shanghai, from which the top 10 qualified for the Olympics. Weinberger was 17th at the worlds but has been torrid since.

The UVic economics major has certainly come a long way in the short time since winning two gold medals at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Prince Edward Island.

“Richard can race with anyone,” says veteran Victoria mentor Ron Jacks, who coaches Weinberger in open water.

Weinberger, who also trains at Saanich Commonwealth Place, is more used to the much colder waters of Elk and Thetis lakes than the warm waves of Brazil.

“The conditions were not in my favour today but still it is important for me to race in those kinds of situations,” he added, in the statement.

“In London, the waters will be cold and flat and that’ll be perfect for me.”

Fellow Victorian Aimeson King finished 31st.

Weinberger and King are gunning for the next and last Olympic qualifier in June at Portugal.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com