European champion Domenico Acerenza
of Italy and France’s relay world champion Oceane Cassignol claimed the titles
at the second leg of the LEN Open Water Cup in Piombino.
Cool waters and waves awaited the
swimmers at the rocky coastline in Piombino, a traditional stop in the LEN OWS
Cup – still, more than 100 athletes in total lined up for the starts of the two
races.
The men’s competition was dominated
by the Italians, even though their top star Gregorio Paltrinieri opted to come
out from the water soon after passing the halfway mark, due to health issues
related to the cold water. His training partner and European title-holder
Domenico Acerenza went all the way, though – after ‘travelling’ in the chasing
group, he burst to the front in the last lap and hit the panel with a
relatively comfortable 1.5sec winning margin. Behind him it was a real battle
for the minor spoils as four swimmers stormed in in a span of 0.5sec. At the
end two of the hosts’ youngsters Andrea Filadelli and Ivan Giovannoni had the
best-timed touches, but after reviewing the photo finish veteran Mario Sanzullo
could also join them to share the bronze.
While the men’s event was an Italian
feast with the top seven spots all being grabbed by the home swimmers, the
women’s party was ruined by Oceane Cassignol. The Frenchwoman outsmarted her
rivals over the last metres and won by two seconds. Ginevra Taddeucci and
Barbara Pozzobon, who had been leading for most of the time, had to settle for
the silver and the bronze respectively.
It was a demanding race which saw
more than 30 swimmers signalling for an early exit due to the tough conditions.
Fifty of the bravest among the men and 22 among the women still made it to the
finish line.
However, it was still a calm and
peaceful gathering compared to the 25km event at the 2022 European
Championships in Rome last summer which had to be halted due to the severe
weather conditions. Back then no medal-winners were declared – then, after a
post-event reassessment, LEN decided to stick to the rules and determine the
final rankings. And with all the medal winners taking part in the Saturday races
as well, the Rome medals and mascots were handed over to them here, by LEN
President Antonio da Silva. That made Mauro Sanzullo extra happy since he could
leave the site with two medals – and just like in the LEN Cup, the women’s gold
went to France, Caroline Jouisse could step onto the top of the podium.
Quotes
Domenico Acerenza (ITA), winner,
men’s 10km
"The conditions were difficult,
but this is open water swimming, we have to be good at adapting to all
temperatures. I applied a different tactic than usual. I stayed covered until
halfway through the race and then took the lead from the fifth lap. I'm happy
because it wasn't easy to win today and because my condition isn't yet the best
as I'm still missing a bit of speed.”
Oceane Cassignol (FRA), winner,
women’s 10km
“I felt great before the race and
during it as well. It was much better than on Monday in Egypt (at the World
Series) where I had been a bit worried as I had broken my nose two weeks ago.
Today this did not affect my race at all, so could swim freely and I’m really
happy that I could win this event. It’s a good boost before the summer season.”
Mario Sanzullo (ITA), 2022 European
champion, 25km
“After nine months, now I’m European
champion, so this is my happy day! It was a very tough race last August but at
least our efforts were recognised at the end.”
Caroline Jouisse (FRA), 2022 European
champion, 25km
“The emotions are not the same as if
we had received the medals on the same day of the race. It’s a bit of weird
feeling, it was tough day, a unique situation, but it’s good to get the medals
after all.”
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