Paris, 8 August 2024(TDI): In the women’s 10 km marathon swim in the Seine, Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands made a last-minute charge to secure the gold medal.
Van Rouwendaal, a 2016 Olympic winner, had to settle for silver in Tokyo in 2021 after painfully losing out on gold by just 0.9 seconds.
The 30-year-old stole the win in two hours, three minutes, and 34.2 seconds by passing Australia’s Moesha Johnson, who had been leading the race for the majority of it.
Leah Crisp of Great Britain placed 20th, Johnson finished 5.5 seconds behind to win silver, and Italian Ginevra Taddeucci took home the bronze.
Previous testing had indicated that the water’s bacterial levels had fallen below the necessary threshold, necessitating the cancellation of the marathon swimming preparation.
The test on Wednesday, though, was conducted in advance of Thursday’s 10 km event.
The men’s triathlon was delayed by one day due to the poor state of the Seine, which was a prominent topic of discussion both before and during Paris 2024.
This Friday is the scheduled day for the men’s marathon swim.
