Swimmer's Daily

  • Rasovszky marches on

    Kristof Rasovszky seems to be unstoppable: just two weeks after claiming two golds and a silver at the European Championships, the Hungarian hero won the 5th leg of the LEN Open Water Cup in Copenhagen. It was his third win in the series this season. The women’s title went to Alisa Tettamanzi, this is the fourth Italian triumph in a row in the women’s cup in 2018, achieved by four different swimmers.

    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018.
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Winner of the fifth leg in Copenhagen: Kristóf Rasovszky (HUN).
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Goldwinner: Alisa Tettamanzi (ITA). Silwermedal: Ellen Olsson (SWE). Bronzemedal: Maria Babkina (RUSJ).
    Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Swim event TF Christiansborg Rundt 2018. Winner of the female race. Alisa Tettamanzi (ITA).

    At the age of 21 a properly trained open water swimmers might not need too much rest. Kristof Rasovszky covered 40km in five days at the European Championships, wrote history as the first man to make the podium in all three individual events in a single edition (won the 5km and 25km, came second by 0.04sec in the 10km) – and just two weeks later he was back to race in the 5th leg of the LEN Open Water Cup in Copenhagen.

    This was his debut amidst the Danish capital’s astonishing settings and he managed to conquer the canals as well. It was an exciting battle over 6km, at the touchpad only one second separated the top three finishers, Rasovszky’s powerful finish made the difference at the end.

    “I loved the race, loved just to swim straight, no need to take care of buoys, just go alongside the walls, under the bridges” Rasovszky said. “It was tough race on a high speed, you couldn’t think too much just have to push as hard as possible.”

    The Hungarian winner hailed the environment as well. “It’s a brilliant event with people cheering us almost all the way, definitely a must-do for all open water swimmers.”

    Rasovszky won his third event in the LEN Open Water Cup this season, he touched in first in Eilat and Barcelona (skipped the other two legs) – his winning streak stands at 7 consecutive triumphs as he also won four titles in as many starts in 2017.

    The women’s race offered less excitements as Alisa Tettamanzi managed to build a safe gap towards the finish and she won by 1:15min ahead of Sweden’s Ellen Olsson. She maintained the Italian women’s dominance this season as this was the fourth race in a row won by an Italian though interestingly there were four different victors.

    “It is my first time here in Copenhagen, but I think it was a beautiful to race in the canals in the centre of the city” Tettamanzi said.

    LEN Open Water Cup, Leg 5, Copenhagen (6km)

    Men

    1. Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) 1:07:43
    2. Roman Kozhevnikov (RUS) 1:07:44
    3. Pasquale Sanzullo (ITA) 1:07:45

    Women

    1. Alisa Tettamanzi (ITAL) 1:11:52
    2. Ellen Olsson (SWE) 1:13:07
    3. Maria Babkina (RUS) 1:13:10

    LEN Open Water Cup – 2018
    Leg 1, 25 March – Eilat (ISR)
    Winners: Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) – Nikolett Szilagyi (HUN)
    Leg 2, 31 May – Gravelines (FRA)
    Winners: Florian Wellbrock (GER) – Ariana Bridi (ITA)
    Leg 3, 30 June – Barcelona (ESP)
    Winners: Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) – Aurora Ponsele (ITA)
    Leg 4, 28 July – Navia (ESP)
    Winners: Pasquale Sanzullo (ITA) – Veronica Santoni (ITA)
    Leg 5, 25 August – Copenhagen (DEN)
    Winners: Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) – Alisa Tettamanzi (ITA)
    Leg 6, 9 September – Bled (SLO)

    Press release from LEN, photos courtesy of Jesper Westley

  • Chinese swimmer Sun Yang retained his 1500m freestyle title for the third time in a row at the 18th Asian Games, clocking in at 14:58.53s and grabbing his fourth gold on Friday. The swimming competition wrapped up on Friday, with China winning 19 gold medals in the swimming pool. China is also leading the medal table with 66 gold, 46 silver and 27 bronze medals, followed by Japan and South Korea which grabbed 29 and 23 golds respectively.

  • According to reports, 24-year-old Kim Hye-in was allegedly assaulted by a Chinese swimmer during training at the Asian Games in Indonesia, after accidentally striking the swimmer in the face.

    https://youtu.be/v3HCvMsxxa4

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