In a gripping final sprint, Leonie Beck could even win gold. However, the woman from Würzburg is also very satisfied with silver. The World Cup is not over for them.
Leonie Beck was very happy about silver after a thrilling sprint to the finish line.
Exhausted but always smiling, the 25-year-old spoke on the sandy beach of Lupa Lake in bright sunshine about her first world championship medal in the Olympic ten kilometers in open water swimming. At the award ceremony in front of shiny water, she gave the precious metal a kiss. “A medal at a world championship is really great. In the end you also need a little bit of luck. But second in this field is really, really good,” said Beck.
In a furious three-way battle for the podium places, she had to admit defeat to Sharon van Rouwendaal from the Netherlands in the photo finish, but came in just ahead of Ana Marcela Cunha from Brazil.
Beck just missed out on gold
“I’m happy that it finally worked out at a world championship,” said Beck, who won gold on Sunday with the relay for Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock. Looking at the strenuous race in the lake on the outskirts of Budapest, which was already 27.6 degrees early in the morning, she said with a laugh: “I don’t want to do anything anymore.”
After finishing fourth over five kilometers two days earlier, Beck swam much more aggressively and even looked like the winner with 200 meters to go. However, Van Rouwendaal had the higher top speed and finished after 2:02:29.20 hours – five tenths of a second ahead of Beck. A second behind was Olympic champion and five-kilometer world champion Cunha. The second German starter Lea Boy finished eighth.
At the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Beck competed as a pool swimmer. She was eliminated in the 800 meter freestyle. Since things didn’t go as planned in the pool, the woman from Würzburg switched to open water. In the outdoor sport, which depends not only on speed and endurance, but also on tactical finesse, experience and assertiveness, she had a hard time at the beginning. That is past. At the World Championships in South Korea in 2019 she won bronze over five kilometers and at the Olympics in Tokyo she was very satisfied with fifth place.
“I was really looking forward to the race. I really enjoy it now, »said Beck. The heat in Hungary didn’t bother her. “I think I’ve established myself in the open water and I’ve already reached the top somewhere.” After a little rest, she wants to give everything again this Thursday. However, not in the water, but to support Boy in the 25-kilometer race. “Tomorrow I’ll support with everything that’s still in my body,” said Beck.
Source: Stern
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