What looked like another routine win
for Sharon van Rouwendaal in her storied career turned into a gold medal for
France on the third stop of the World Aquatics Open Water World Cup 2023 tourn
in Setubal, Portugal.
France’s Caroline Jouisse ended
Leonie Beck’s chances at a three-peat on Saturday at the third leg of the World
Aquatics Open Water World Cup in Setubal, Portugal. The race played out in
similar fashion to the first two stops in Egypt and Italy with the Italians
Giulia Gabbrielleschi and Ginevra Taddeucci leading the pack with Sharon van
Rouwendaal in tow.
Beck had come from way off the pace
in both Egypt and Italy to take the win on her back half and in Portugal it
appeared we were watching the same movie for the third time. Through 6,000
meters, Beck was in the lead and it looked like she’d pull away for a third
straight. But the pack seemed to know this would happen, and pounced on the
opportunity the moment Beck showed signs of weakening.
After four laps, van Rouwendaal took
the lead with Italian Arianna Bridi in second and Taddeucci in third while Beck
had fallen to tenth.
Throughout the last lap, it was a
match race led by the 2016 Olympic and 2022 World champion van Rouwendaal and
it looked like she was in a comfortable position to win her first 10K of the
World Cup.
However, the pack inched their way
in, with each swimmer angling their position to try and get a straight shot at
the finish line. A horizontal line formed as it came down to who had the most
left after nearly two hours of racing.
Ultimately, it was not the reigning
World champion or one of the Italian pre-race favourites that touched the
finish line first, instead it was France’s Jouisse (2:01:12.1) ahead of Italy’s
Bridi (2:01:13.0), Netherlands’s Van Rouwendaal (2:01:13.0), Hungary’s Betti
Fabian (2:01:13.5), and Italy’s Taddeucci (2:01:13.6) in a photo finish.
Jouisse gained the lead over the last
few meters as she collected some valuable momentum for a French team that is
hosting the big show next summer at the Olympics. Italy’s Barbara Pozzobon
(2:01:15.2) and Portugal’s Angelica Andre (2:01:15.3) were also in the mix on
that final straightaway. Beck faded to 17th at the end (2:03:47.5).
The race was without Olympic champion
Ana Marcela Cunha as Van Rouwendaal overtook the top of the points standings
through three races with 1750 points while Beck is now in second with 1740.
Jouisse now sits third overall with 1300 points
Image Source: Lucas Cipriano/World
Aquatics
Written by Andy Ross, World Aquatics
Correspondent
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