Tokyo, Aug 5: Florian Wellbrock of Germany added a gold medal in marathon swimming to his bronze at the pool, romping to a dominant win in the men’s 10-kilometer race at Tokyo Bay on Thursday.
Wellbrock sprinted out to an early lead, was up front most of the way and won by the biggest margin in Olympic marathon swimming history on another sweltering morning in Japan’s capital.
“Florian was unbeatable today,” said Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary, who finished more than 25 seconds behind for the silver.
“I tried to be the best of the rest.”
Even with the race starting at 6:30 a.m., the temperature was already 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27.2 Celsius) with 80% humidity, making it feel like close to 90 degrees.
Unlike the women’s race the previous day, there were no clouds to mitigate the heat. It sure didn’t bother the reigning world champion.
“A little bit unreal,” the 23-year-old Wellbrock said. “The first seven (kilometers) of this race felt really easy. My competitors had to work really hard behind me.”
The stifling conditions got to David Aubry of France, who dropped out with about 3 kilometers remaining and was carried off the deck on a stretcher.
French officials said a shoulder injury hampered his training leading up to the race, so his fitness wasn’t good enough to handle the heat and Wellbrock’s pace.
Aubry was feeling better after receiving treatment in the medical facility.
Hector Pardoe of Britain also failed to finish after being elbowed in the right eye. His goggles were knocked off, and he emerged from the water with a nasty gash and a swollen eye.
Wellbrock pulled away on the final lap to win by 25.3 seconds, finishing in 1 hour, 48 minutes, 33.7 seconds. It was by far the largest margin of victory in the history of Olympic marathon swimming, which was added to the program at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Wellbrock also won a bronze in the 1,500-meter freestyle on the last day of swimming at the pool. (AP)
