Kazan, Russia: There were medals at stake in the women’s 10-kilometre open water race at the world swimming championships. A top-10 finish was just as good, though, since it secured a trip to next year’s Olympics.
Aurelie Muller of France won by 2.4 seconds yesterday after leading the last two laps on the Kazanka River. She hit the touchpad in 1 hour, 58 minutes, 4.3 seconds.
“It was a crazy race and my goal was top-10,” she said. “I’m very, very happy.”
Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands earned silver in 1:58:06.7. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil took bronze in 1:58:26.5, finishing 22.2 seconds behind Muller to secure a berth for her home Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
China’s hopes of a golden sweep in diving ended when Tania Cagnotto of Italy won the 1-meter title by 1.65 points over Shi Tingmao. Cagnotto led all the way and hung on to qualify for a sixth Olympics at age 30 despite getting outscored by Shi in the final round.
Shi’s last dive carried a 2.6 degree of difficulty compared to 2.4 for Cagotto. Shi earned 70.20 points to 61.20 for Cagnotto, who has never been higher than fifth at the Olympics. The Italian benefited from her early lead, carrying a 10.65-point advantage into the last round that allowed her to survive being outscored.
Cagnotto totaled 310.85 points. Shi took silver with 309.20 and her teammate, He Zi, earned bronze at 300.30. China had claimed gold in the first five diving events in Kazan.
In open water, Muller and Van Rouwendaal prepared for worlds while training together in France.
“I thought maybe I can win but Aurelie, she was too fast,” Van Rouwendaal said. “I think I’m much stronger next year and I can surprise myself again at Rio.”
Cunha doesn’t train at Copacabana beach, site of the open water competition for Rio, where the water quality has been criticized for being heavily polluted.
“The water quality is as well as for a competition like this,” she said through a translator. “That’s why people go there and see and do their tests about the quality of the water. In Copacabana beach, it’s pretty good.”
Conditions were ideal for the second straight day on the rectangular course near the Kazan Kremlin. Similar to the men’s 10k on Monday, the 73-degree F (23-degree C) water was flat and the air temperature was 77 degrees F (25 degrees C).
Muller took the lead on the third lap and maintained it until the finish. She was joined by Rachele Bruni of Italy and Van Rouwendaal heading for home, with the trio 22 seconds ahead of the chasing group.