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Germany's Beck wins women's 10km title at swimming worlds

Published : 16 Jul 2023, 01:44

Updated : 16 Jul 2023, 01:46

DF News Desk

Gold medalist Leonie Beck (C) of Germany, silver medalist Chelsea Gubecka of Australia and bronze medalist Katie Grimes of the United States pose for photos during the awarding ceremony of the open water women 10km of World Aquatics Championships 2023 held in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 15, 2023. Photo: Xinhua by Xia Yifang.

Germany's Leonie Beck won the first gold medal of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in the women's 10 kilometers open water event here on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

The 26-year-old, silver medalist in last year's Budapest worlds, outsprinted Australia's Chelsea Gubecka in the final stage, touching home first with two hours two minutes and 34 seconds.

Gubecka, competing in her sixth world championships, took silver in 2:02:38.1 while American swimmer Katie Grimes settled for the bronze in 2:02:42.3.

Beck, who was 16th halfway into the race, said her tactic was very successful.

"The first half was OK and I tried to conserve my energy," she said. "The last lap was a fight to be in the right place for the finish."

Gubecka was very excited with the silver and a place in the Paris Olympic Games.

"I'm really excited," she said. "This will be my second Olympic Games. I missed Tokyo, which is really disappointing. I did race in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, so it's been a very long time since the Olympics."