Russia's Ilchenko snatches first Olympic open water gold
20/8/2008 17:54
Russia's Larisa Ilchenko pulled away from her chasers in the women's
marathon 10-kilometer swimming in Beijing today, snatching the first Olympic
gold in open water swimming.
Ilchenko, who followed British swimmers
Cassandra Patten and Keri-Anne Payne during most part of the race, successfully
overtook the two British after the last turn and finished the race in one hour
59 minutes and 27.7 seconds.
British Payne proved herself as an outstanding
long distance swimmer with a silver in 1:59:29.2. Payne finished with a
disappointing 11th position at the 2007 World Championships after being stung in
the mouth by a jellyfish while leading the 10km open water event. World
championships silver medalist Patten won bronze in 1:59:31.0.
Ilchenko has
dominated open water swimming since 2004, winning five consecutive 5km world
championships and three consecutive 10km races. She is known for her ability to
win in all water conditions and temperatures.
"It was a tough race. I was
trying to convince myself that it was a training test. It took a lot of
willpower to convince myself. But I did it," Ilchenko said after the
race.
The Russian swimmer, who often choose to sit behind the leaders and
make a move in the last kilometer, repeated the tactic again in today's race.
Questioned whether it bothered her that she always took the advantage of other
swimmers at the last moment, Ilchenko said "it doesn't bother me in the
least."
"It's a competition after all and the best athlete wins. How can I
just stop and let other somebody else win? How can I let other girls take my
medal?" said she, adding "I actually worked as hard as anybody else and I don't
think it's a question at all."
The open-water event is slated to the 2008
Olympic Games for the first time. It is also referred to as a "wrestling match
in water" due to the aggressive techniques employed in competing in the
sport.
South Africa's Natalie du Toit, the first amputee qualified to swim
the 10k open water race, ranked 16th. "I was disappointed. My goal is to get
into the top five. But I've done everything I could possibly do."
Xinhua
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