Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaal wins historic women’s marathon swimming gold
Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaal won the women’s 10km marathon swimming on Thursday 8 August as she became the first athlete to win two Olympic gold medals in the event.
The race saw athletes swim for more than two hours in the iconic River Seine with Van Rouwendaal reaching the finish first in a time of 2:03:34.2. Van Rouwendaal pulled away from Australia’s Moesha Johnson and Ginevra Taddeucci, who won silver and bronze respectively.
Reflecting on her victory, Van Rouwendaal said: “This year started great – two times world champion – but then in May my little dog died.
“He needed an operation on his lungs, and I was hoping we could live in the Netherlands after the Olympics. He had complications after the surgery, and he died – and then my world stopped.
“I didn’t care about swimming for three weeks, like he was my little baby. But then my dad said, ‘Just see it like you have been away from him for seven years through competitions – just do one more race and give it everything and swim for him’.
“So I had a tattoo three days after the cremation and I said, ‘Let’s try it and I will swim for him with my whole heart’ – and I did it – I won for him.”
Photo by © Clive Rose/Getty Images
