Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands continued her dominance in the women’s 10km open water swim by winning gold on Thursday morning on the Seine in Paris.
Australia’s Moesha Johnson earned silver and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci finished in third place.
Johnson jumped out to an early lead in the first kilometer. There was a big group behind as the athletes had to contend with a strong current throughout the race.
Two-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion van Rouwendaal fought her way into first place with about 6km to go, leading a group of three other women who were all within two seconds of her.
With two laps to go, the battle for gold intensified between van Rouwendaal and Johnson, who pulled slightly ahead of Taddeucci in third place.
The pair of Van Rouwendaal and Johnson stayed strong at the front until van Rouwendaal pulled ahead at the very end to secure the victory.
Van Rouwendaal is the first athlete (man or woman) to win two Olympic gold medals in this event, and the only athlete to win three consecutive medals in this event after winning gold in Rio and silver in Tokyo.
In her Olympic debut, Johnson won her first Olympic medal and Taddeucci also earned her first Olympic medal.
Americans Katie Grimes and Mariah Denigan finished in 15th and 16th, respectively.
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