Women's Marathon - Sharon Van Rouwendaal 1st To Win Two Marathon Golds (2016, 2024), Johnson & Taddeuci On Podium
The race got off at 7.30 Paris time and the swimmers are currently on the first of six loops of 1.67km between two bridges, Pont Alexandre III and Pont de l'Alma. In 19mins 09sec, Australian Moesha Johnson was first through on lap 1...
It's Gold for Sharon Van Rouwendaal, the Dutch ace the first marathon swimmer in history to claim two Olympic golds over 10km, eight years after she took the title at Rio 2016 and three years after silver in Tokyo.
In that count, Van Rouwendaal is also the first marathon ace to claim three medals at any Games and successively.
Australia's Moesha Johnson set the pace for the bulk of the race, her reward silver after Van Rouwendaal made her move at the Ponte des Invalides just shy of the final stretch to home. Italy's Ginerva Taddeuci took bronze.
More, including what the swimmers had to say as soon as we get too it...
As it happened, our live file from this morning:
Good Morning from Paris. The Seine it is for the marathon swimmers. In contrast to other days when we've been supplied with numerous measures of bugs in the river, organisers issued the following statement at 5am here in Paris:
"Women’s Marathon Swimming Confirmed
"During a meeting on water quality held on 8 August at 3.30AM attended by representatives from World Aquatics, including their Technical Delegates and Medical Delegates, Paris 2024, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, World Aquatics have confirmed that the women’s marathon swimming will go ahead as planned on 8 August at 7.30AM.
"The results of the latest water quality tests, reviewed during the meeting at 3.30AM, have been assessed as compliant by World Aquatics, allowing for the women’s marathon swimming to take place."
Live coverage below for SOS+ members ... after four laps, both champions of 2016, Sharon Van Rouwendaal (NED), and 2021, Ana Cunha (BRA), remain in the top 5. No swimmer has ever won two golds in the marathon since its introduction in 2008. The long-term leader after four laps: Moesha Johnson, of Australia and based in Germany, her teammate Chelsea Gubecka also in the top 5.
With one lap to go, the podium is on the horizon, Johnson, Van Rouwendaal and Italy's Ginerva Taddeuci well clear of the chasers 30-plus seconds back.
