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Kristóf Rasovszky won the bronze medal in the 10 km race at the last stage of the Open Water Swimming World Cup series in Funchal, Madeira, securing his overall first place. Furthermore, Bettina Fábián finished second in the women’s race on Saturday.
The Olympic silver medalist Rasovszky won the overall title for the fourth time in a row, a feat never achieved before. In addition to the first place, he also received USD $50,000.
“Obviously, the goal was to win the overall first place…” said Kristóf Rasovszky. “To finish third in such a huge field, even though the form is not the same as it was at the World Championships, is of course a special pleasure. The fourth victory sounds good, it is a nice line, of course every year there are new challengers, like the Italian Marcello Guidi, who won the European Cup this year. This was the hardest race with 92 competitors,” noted the swimmer.
Dávid Betlehem was by far the best performer in the Hungarian individual event for the World Cup, finishing fifth in the lead group – and third in the overall, for which he also received USD $25,000 – thereby taking second place in the Doha World Championship team.
Dávid Betlehem. Photo via Facebook/Magyar Úszó Szövetség – Magyar úszóválogatott
In the women’s race, Bettina Fábián turned into the last lap in 15th place, then after 16 seconds she came up to second place and won the silver medal. The junior world and European champion swimmer won the juniors’ overall and finished fifth in the adults’ event – collecting a total of USD $20,000 in bonuses – and also earned a place at the Doha World Championships.
Fábián stressed that this was one of the most difficult races she has ever participated in.
Kristóf Rasovszky and Bettina Fábián. Photo via Facebook/Magyar Úszó Szövetség – Magyar úszóválogatott
“It was a very strong field and the conditions were very difficult, it was a very hard swim. In comparison, I think I made the most of it, I am very happy with the silver medal and the World Championships qualification. I like smoother water, my technique and swimming skills come out better, but now I showed that I can also do well in classic open water conditions (…) And of course the fact that I managed to do so well thanks to all the hard work, especially in the chase – I finally managed to get a good position for once, because I was constantly in the middle of the turns, I was constantly being pushed down, but I managed to get past the others at the end,” she concluded.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Rasovszky Kristóf