Kristóf Rasovszky won the silver medal in the 10 kilometer open water swimming race in Fukuoka.Continue reading
The Hungarian relay team of Bettina Fábián, Anna Olasz, Kristóf Rasovszky, and Dávid Betlehem won the silver medal in the 4×1500 m team event at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
The event was won by the Italians in hot pursuit, with the Australians finishing third.
This was the second medal for the Hungarian delegation in Fukuoka, as Kristóf Rasovszky was second in the 10 km Olympic qualification race. He became the first athlete in the history of the discipline to stand on the podium twice at the same World Championships. The Hungarian open water swimmers won two medals last year at Lake Lupa too, where the relay team also finished second.
The teams of four had to swim 4×1500 meters in any order, and unlike in previous races, this time the swimmers had to deal with much bigger waves, as they were greeted by windy, overcast weather.
Among the favorites, the Germans, Italians, and Hungarians opted for two women, two men tactics, while the French preferred taking turns.
Bettina Fábián of Hungary jumped into the water in the first heat. Of those ahead of her, only Australia started with a woman, namely the 10km silver medalist Chelsea Gubecca. Fábián was then one minute behind the Spaniards in first place, and Anna Olasz handed over the baton to the 10km silver medalist Rasovsky by another half a minute.
A sensational performance from the athlete saw his move up to third place, leaving Dávid Betlehem to battle it out with the Australian, German, and Italian competitors, including world-class Gregorio Paltrinieri.
The Australian, who had a seven-second lead in the water at the changeover, was quickly overtaken by Betlehem and Paltrinieri, who arrived at the final buoy virtually simultaneously. It was then a foregone conclusion that the gold medal would be decided between the two.
In the last 200 meters, the Italian Olympic and world champion was a little faster and Betlehem finished second.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Facebook/Magyar Úszó Szövetség – Magyar úszóválogatott