2024 Paris Olympics Open Water Swimming
Ladies’s 10km Begin Lists
The 2024 Olympics open water swimming occasions kick off on Thursday morning, August eighth, within the Seine River that winds by Paris. The opponents will full six circuits of a 1.67-kilometer loop between the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont de l’Alma; they’ll have the present at their backs going downstream, and so they’ll struggle towards it on the best way again.
We start with the ladies’s 10km race, which pits Dutch veteran and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Sharon van Rouwendaal towards defending Olympic Champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil. American Katie Grimes, who gained the bronze medal within the 10km on the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, can also be a menace for the Olympic title this 12 months. Her teammate Mariah Denigan, who positioned sixth on the 2024 World Championships, is making her Olympic debut this 12 months.
France has a pair of entrants who can’t be ignored, particularly given the unbridled enthusiasm displayed by the house crowd. Caroline Jouisse and Oceane Cassignol are first-time Olympians; they certified by ending seventh and tenth, respectively, within the 10km on the 2024 World Championships. Lisa Pou, who modified sporting nationalities from France to Monaco final fall, may even be swimming in entrance of a pleasant viewers.
Ladies’s Open Water 10k Prime 8:
Moesha Johnson of Australia led the sphere on the primary downstream leg, making it across the two buoys in entrance of Bettina Fabian of Hungary, van Rouwendaal, and Cunha. As a lot as they bunched collectively on the downstream leg of lap 1, the swimmers had been pressured by the present into an extended line, butting up towards the river wall, on the best way again. Italians Ginevra Taddeucci and Giulia Gabbrielleschi led the best way, with Johnson in third place.
As swimmers got here in for fueling on the feed station on the highest finish of the course, the pack divided into smaller teams. 2016 gold medalist Van Rouwendaal took over the lead within the entrance pack, headed downstream on lap 2 adopted by Cunha and Johnson.
The second group rejoined the lead group on the upstream half of lap 2 however van Rouwendaal maintained her place in entrance. Johnson handed the Italian duo and held on at second place, a couple of physique size behind van Rouwendaal. Australia’s Chelsea Gubecka of Australia was in fifth place.
As they completed lap 2 and made it by the chute, they stopped to gasoline on the feeding station after which took off to assault the third downstream leg. Van Rouwendaal, Johnson, Taddeucci, and Gabbrielleschi held their formation on the lead of the lead pack. Japan’s Airi Ebina and Australia’s Gubecka moved as much as third and 4th behind van Rouwendaal and Johnson on the upstream leg of lap 3. Once more, the chase group closed the hole with the lead group on the upstream leg, however van Rouwendaal and Johnson allowed nobody into their area. Cunha labored her method again to 4th place as they swam previous the grandstands stuffed with cheering flag-wavers.
Johnson maneuvered previous van Rouwendaal within the chute resulting in the feed station and held the #1 place going downstream on lap 4. The sphere separated once more going with the present, as Johnson, van Rouwendaal, Taddeucci, Gubecka, and Cunha comprised the lead pack, adopted by Gabbrielleschi, Fabian, Brazil’s Viviane Jungblut, and Ebina.
Johnson got here out of the feed station within the lead on the downstream leg of lap 5, with solely van Rouwendaal and Taddeucci behind her within the lead group. The chase group was about 18 seconds behind, led by Cunha, Gabrielleschi, Fabian and Gubecka. As they made their method again upstream, there have been three distinct teams – for the primary time, the chase pack didn’t catch the leaders, which made it seem to be a frightening job to vie for a medal with one lap to go.
On the final feeding station, van Rouwendaal fueled up and headed downstream, proper on Johnson’s toes, with Taddeucci nonetheless in third place simply behind. As they made the ultimate flip on the Pont d’Alma, it felt just like the calm earlier than the storm. Johnson, with 1:50.11.7, led by solely 0.6, and the dash was about to start. Swimming into the present, van Rouwendaal tried to maneuver to Johnson’s inside. Taddeucci was nonetheless solely a physique again.
