Germany's Beck Strikes Double Open Water Gold At Swimming Worlds
Germany's Beck strikes double open water gold at swimming worlds - Image Source: IANS
Leonie Beck: Germany's Leonie Beck claimed the women's 5km open water gold on Tuesday to add to her 10km title at the World Aquatics Championships.
The 26-year-old clocked 59 minutes 31.70 seconds, beating Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands by just one second. Brazil's Ana Marcela Cunha finished third in 59:33.90, reports Xinhua.
Beck acknowledged that winning a second race in the space of four days came as a surprise.
"I didn't believe I could win a medal in the 5k after the hard 10k race," she said. "Mentally it's not easy, but I'm really happy that I could win the 5k. I would never have thought of it."
Beck added that she had dropped back during the first lap after one of her eyes was hit by something, but managed to recover.
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"I had to catch the group at one point after one and a half laps," she said. "Then I tried my best to go in front and raced till the end."