Feb 7, 2024 at 10:50 AM Update: a day ago
Sharon van Rouwendaal felt supreme on Wednesday on her way to her second world title at the World Championships in Doha. Her victory in the 5 kilometers is once again confirmation that she is on the right track towards the Olympic Games in Paris.
“This is a very nice one,” Van Rouwendaal said after her golden race in Doha. “I dove in and didn’t really have a plan or anything. I just thought about sprinting as fast as possible. I wanted to speed up and pull the field apart a bit.”
Van Rouwendaal swam at the front for a large part of the race. Only in the last round was Baarnse suddenly overtaken by Chelsea Gubecka, the silver winner. “I thought: if you want to go, go,” the Dutch woman reflects.
“I noticed that she was getting tired after about 800 to 900 meters in the lead, while I had been in the lead for the rest of the race. When Chelsea went to the inside at the finish, I went straight to the outside. They no longer come to me and that’s why I won.”
Sharon van Rouwendaal next to Chelsea Gubecka (left) and Ana Marcela Cunha (right). Photo: Getty Images
Van Rouwendaal receives confirmation in the Olympic year
Van Rouwendaal eventually finished after 57.33.9 minutes with more than a second lead over Gubecka. The final sprint of the thirty-year-old Dutch woman, who was already in a class of her own in the 10 kilometers on Saturday, was particularly powerful.
What do these two world titles say in the first months of an Olympic year? “That I was the best and am in top form,” Van Rouwendaal is clear. “This is a really good start to the year.”
Van Rouwendaal hopes to win Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters for the second time in her career in the summer. She won her previous gold medal in 2016. Van Rouwendaal won silver at the last Games. The 5 kilometers is not an Olympic distance.
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Van Rouwendaal conquers a second world title in open water and can go to the Games
Beeld: Getty Images
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SwimmingSharon van RouwendaalWorld Championship swimming
