Drattsev qualified for the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing, after placing fifth from the
FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in
Seville, Spain. He swam in the first ever
men's 10 km open water marathon, against a field of 24 other competitors, including former pool swimmers
Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria and
Thomas Lurz of Germany, and his teammate
Vladimir Dyatchin. Drattsev finished the race in fifth place, with a time of 1:52:08.9, approximately seventeen seconds behind winner
Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands. At the
2009 FINA World Championships in
Rome, Italy, Drattsev displayed a poor performance in the open water marathon, when he finished fifth in the
5 km, and twelfth in the
10 km. The following year, he recaptured his success by winning two silver medals for the same categories at the
2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in
Roberval, Quebec,
Canada. He also reinforced his lead in the
FINA 10 km Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit, by reaching the top position in all eight meets of the series, including his first-place finish in
Santos,
Brazil. Drattsev continued his medal streak in the 10 km marathon by claiming the bronze at the
2010 European Aquatics Championships in
Balatonfüred,
Hungary, with a time of 1:54:26.6. In 2011, Drattsev won the gold medal at the third stage of FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix in
Viedma,
Argentina, with a time of 2:33:07, three seconds ahead his teammate
Sergey Bolshakov (2:33:10). Drattsev eventually qualified for the
FINA World Championships in
Shanghai, China, where he won the bronze medal in the
men's 5 km marathon, with a time of 56:18.5, approximately one second behind Greece's
Spyridon Gianniotis. He also achieved a fifth-place finish in the
team trials, along with his fellow open water swimmers Sergey Bolshakov and Ekaterina Seliverstova. In 2012, Drattsev decided to withdraw from the FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier, held in
Setubal, Portugal, to focus on his competitive career for the FINA 10 km Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit. Although he did not win a single meet of these series, Drattsev was able to capture two bronze medals in Viedma, Argentina (second stage) and in
Eilat, Israel (third stage). ==References==