RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – In the sewage-filled waters off one of the world’s most famous beaches, Sharon van Rouwendaal claimed gold for the Netherlands in the Olympic women’s open water race Monday at Copacabana.
Van Rouwendaal began to pull away on the third of four laps, and it wasn’t even close by the end of the 10-kilometer race. She reached up and touched the timing board before her closest challenger had even entered the finish chute. The winning margin was a staggering 17.4 seconds, far more than the 0.4 difference four years ago and the 1.4 spread at the inaugural open water competition in 2008.
“I felt so good,” Van Rouwendaal said. “I swam so easy. I felt no fatigue. After 6k, I changed my mind and thought I should push on.”
The bigger drama came behind the winner. Aurelie Muller of France touched next, but then it was announced she had been disqualified for an incident at the finish of the rough-and-tumble sport. That moved Italy’s Rachele Bruni up to silver, while Poliana Okimoto went from just off the podium to bronze – the first swimming medal ever won by a Brazilian woman, either in the pool or open water.
Okimoto’s medal eased some of the sting from a disappointing performance by the pool swimmers, who failed to win a medal in Rio.