PARIS, France — Sharon van Rouwendaal became the first woman to ever win the Olympic marathon swimming event twice, reclaiming the title she won in Rio and fell just short of in Tokyo.
This win was extra significant for the Dutch swimmer, who dedicated her win to her late dog who passed away earlier this year. His name was Rio, after the city where she won her first gold.
Van Rouwendaal wept as she pulled herself out of the Seine River after winning the gold medal, tapping and kissing a tattoo of a paw print on her wrist.
"He was my everything," van Rouwendaal said in an interview after the race. "My world stopped when he died. I didn't want to swim, actually, for three weeks... Then my dad said, 'You have to do it for him,'... and I wanted to swim one more Olympics for him."
Leaving little doubt that she's the greatest female swimmer in open water history, the 30-year-old Dutch star pulled off a crafty move coming to the finish line to win the 10-kilometer marathon race at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Moesha Johnson of Australia, who trains with Van Rouwendaal in Germany, led most of the way but never could get free of her good friend. Then, as they came around a bridge pylon for the Pont des Invalides, with the finish line in sight, the Dutch star made her move.
Van Rouwendaal cut toward the middle of the river, where the current was stronger but she could rely on her speed and endurance to carry her to the front.
Johnson stayed closer to shore and was unable to keep pace with Van Rouwendaal, who powered away and slapped the finishing pad in 2 hours, 3:34 seconds.
Johnson settled for silver in 2:03:39.7, while the bronze went to Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy, the only other swimmer who had a shot at the end. She touched in 2:03:42.8.
After all the talk about bacteria-infested water and whether it was a good idea to hold an Olympic race in an iconic river where swimming has been largely banned for more than a century, this felt like a shining moment for a sport that's barely noticed outside of the Summer Games.
“I just hope people watching today have come to appreciate it so much more,” Johnson said. “I think open water has so much more that I’d love people to learn about and so much room to grow.”
The Associated Press contributed.
