Swimmer Beck wins World Championship gold in open water

Leonie Beck won the gold medal in open water swimming at the World Championships in Japan. The 26-year-old won the race over ten kilometers on Saturday with a strong final sprint. On the first day of competition, with decisions on precious metals, Beck gave the team of the German Swimming Association the first medal in the sea in front of the Momochi Seaside Park in Fukuoka – and then immediately gold.

Olympic qualification secured

In addition, she secured with the victory already the qualification for the Olympic Games next year in Paris. In changeable weather with sun and rain and a water temperature of 26.2 degrees, the native of Augsburg, who lives and trains in Italy, once again showed her top class.

It was anything but ideal for the German swimmers in southwestern Japan. After heavy rain, they skipped a first training opportunity for fear of dirt and germs in the water. Only the day before the race, Beck and the second German starter, Lea Boy, tested the course for the first time.

Beck had started her career as a pool swimmer, wasn’t happy with it, and decided to just focus on the open water. The results of the recent past prove her right: last year she won the world championship silver over ten kilometers and gold in the relay with Florian Wellbrock, Oliver Klemet and Boy. In Rome, she was also crowned European Champion over the Olympic distance. This was followed by the biggest success of her career so far.

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Thanks to the Olympic qualification, Beck now has planning security at an early stage. She does not have to prepare specifically for the unfavorably scheduled World Championships in February in Qatar, where further Olympic places will be awarded, and could even skip them. “Basically, no one wants to start there, because it completely breaks down the methodology that has been in place for years,” said long-distance national coach Bernd Berkhahn, referring to the training structure of the athletes.

Olympic champion Wellbrock also wants to secure his summer games ticket on Sunday (1 a.m. CEST). The 25-year-old, who won five medals in five competitions at the past World Championships, is one of the top favorites over ten kilometers.