Dutchwoman Sharon van Rouwendaal confirms her reign on the waters of the Seine

Sharon van Rouwendaal (front) confirmed her supremacy in the aquatic marathon / Photo: EFE

Dutchwoman Sharon van Rouwendaal confirmed her status as the undisputed queen of the 10-kilometer (km) open water swimming event on Thursday by winning her second Olympic gold medal on the River Seine, eight years after climbing to the top of the podium in Rio de Janeiro.

An impressive list of achievements, to which can be added the silver medal she won at the Tokyo 2020 Games after being surpassed by the Brazilian Ana Marcela Cunha, who on this occasion had to settle for fourth place.

Completing the podium were Australian Moesha Johnson, who had to settle for silver after blowing up the race with a strong pace, and Italian Ginevra Tadeucci, who took bronze.

Controversy

In the days leading up to the start of the competition, all attention was focused on the healthiness of the waters of the Seine, but in the end the event was affected by the strong currents generated in the Parisian river.

The swimmers were barely able to study the currents before the start of the event, after the training session scheduled for last Tuesday was suspended due to water conditions and Wednesday’s training session was reduced to 10 minutes.

Paris / EFE