Sunday, September 22, 2024
HomeTop HeadlinesVan Rouwendaal clinches gold in 10km marathon swim

Van Rouwendaal clinches gold in 10km marathon swim


Netherlands' Sharon van Rouwendaal celebrates her victory after winning the women's 10km marathon swimming final

Van Rouwendaal became the first female to win two Olympic medals in marathon swimming after backing up her gold in 2016 with silver in 2021 [Getty Images]

The Netherlands’ Sharon van Rouwendaal made a late move to clinch gold in the women’s 10km marathon swim in the River Seine.

An Olympic champion in 2016, Van Rouwendaal settled for silver at Tokyo in 2021 after missing out on gold by an agonising 0.9 seconds.

The 30-year-old overtook Australia’s Moesha Johnson, who had led for much of the race, in the final lap to snatch victory in two hours three minutes 34.2 seconds.

Johnson finished 5.5 seconds behind to take silver and Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy claimed bronze, while Great Britain’s Leah Crisp finished 20th.

The marathon swimming familiarisation had previously been cancelled after tests showed levels of bacteria in the water had dropped below the required standard.

However, Wednesday’s test went ahead before the 10km race on Thursday.

The water quality of the Seine had been a major talking point before and during Paris 2024, with the men’s triathlon postponed by a day because of the low water quality.

The men’s marathon swim is due to take place on Friday.

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