PARIS (AP) — Casting aside concerns about the safety of swimming in the Seine River, Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands used a late pass to win the women’s 10-kilometer open water swimming at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
After Moesha Johnson of Australia led most of the way, van Rouwendaal cut into the strong current of the Seine as the lead pack came around the final bridge support. Johnson stayed closer to the shore, allowing the 30-year-old Dutch swimmer to claim the gold.
Van Rouwendaal reached up to slap the finishing pad in 2 hours, 3:34 seconds, while Johnson settled for silver in 2:03:39.7. The bronze went to Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy, the only other swimmer who had a shot at the end in 2:03:42.8.
With a picturesque backdrop that no other city can provide — the Eiffel Tower looming over the course, the gold-domed Invalides a couple of blocks away, the statue-lined Pont Alexander III overlooking the starting buoy and finishing chute — van Rouwendaal added to her legacy as perhaps the greatest female open water swimmer in history.
She won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and a silver in Tokyo three years ago.
