We’ve seen this movie before: Germany’s Leonie Beck wins the 5km World Aquatics Championships gold medal to share with perhaps two of the best open water swimmers of all-time in Sharon van Rouwendaal and Ana Marcela Cunha.
Leonie Beck of Germany became the third woman to win both the 5K and 10K at the same World Championships on Tuesday morning, joining the likes of Larisa Ilchenko and Viola Valli to win the double. Beck, who won the 10K gold medal on Saturday to clinch her ticket to next year’s Olympics in Paris, ployed a similar race strategy to her 10K win, sitting back on the pack early but within striking distance to make a move on the back half.
“I tried to save a bit of energy in the first lap but there are only three laps so you cannot be saving too much energy,” Beck said after the race. “I hit something during the race and got something in my eye. Because of that I (dropped back) a lot of places after the first buoy. I had to catch the group at one point after one and a half laps. I (tried) to catch the feet of Ana. Then I tried my best to go in front and raced till the end.”
Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands and Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil, two of the most successful active open water swimmers in the entire world, joined Beck on the podium with silver and bronze, respectively. Cunha won her 15th World Championships medal, while van Rouwendaal won her sixth open water World Championships medal.
“It was very good. I felt very relaxed,” van Rouwendaal said. “I knew at the end I could do a very good sprint. Ana Marcela was holding me back a little bit but I came very close. So I’m very happy with this race. I never got a medal in the 5k in worlds, so I’m very happy with this one. Next plan is to (race in) a world cup in Paris in two and half weeks and then a holiday and then the new next season will start.”
Cunha sustained an injury in her left shoulder with her tendon last year. In November 2022, she underwent surgery and was out of the water for a time period and was pleased with her preparation for these World Championships despite being out of the water in the fall.
“I did very well. I got injured eight months ago,” Cunha said. “So it's a good thing I made a comeback (and got onto) the podium at the world championships. I'm really happy to be here (and) to be competitive again with the girls in the first pack. So, yes, I'm really happy now. We are happy.”
The race got underway at 8:03 a.m. local time with the water temperature reported by the race organizers to be 28.2 degrees Celsius at the start, much warmer than the 25-degree waters for the 10K on Saturday. Australia’s Moesha Johnson rushed to the lead early with van Rouwendaal on her heels, while France’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova went with the leaders.
With only an hour of racing, the pace was much quicker than the 10km and there was hardly any time to settle into the race.
Johnson and van Rouwendaal dictated the pace early with Kirpichnikova in tow. At the halfway mark, Johnson had about a three-second lead on van Rouwendaal and Kirpichnikova, as it was at this point when Cunha entered the fray.
Cunha is the most decorated open water swimmer at the World Championships since the sport made its debut at the 1991 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, winning her 15th medal at the championships today, as Germany’s Thomas Lurz is second all-time with 13 medals.
On Saturday, both van Rouwendaal and Cunha were shut out of the 10K podium, finishing fourth and fifth in a photo finish with American Katie Grimes. To those watching the 5K race on Tuesday, there was little doubt both van Rouwendaal and Cunha would go down without a fight, and as the lead pack approached the end of lap two and onto the final lap, Cunha had joined the lead pack in fourth.
Going into the final lap, Cunha and Beck made their move, moving up to the lead pack that van Rouwendaal took over at 3800 meters. Johnson of Australia was hanging on for dear life as the veterans started to swallow her up, and she fell off the pace on the final 800 meters. On the final lap, the likes of pre-race favorite Aurelie Muller of France, Bettina Fabian of Hungary had come into the fray to challenge for a podium spot, as did Portugal’s Angelica Andre and Italy’s Barbara Pozzobon.
In the final straightaway, it was a familiar sight and an almost identical replay of the 10km earlier in the week as Beck emerged from the front with van Rouwendaal and Cunha at her feet. The three veterans and the three pre-race favourites came into the finish line in succession; Beck touched at 59:31.7, then van Rouwendaal at 59:32.7, and then Cunha at 59:33.9.
In a race that had so many changes and tactical race strategies, the three favourites wound up on the podium.
“It’s always an honour to be on the podium with two Olympic champions,” Beck, who trains with coach Fabrizio Antonelli said. “I think they are really great athletes. It’s a big honour for me.”
“I saw them coming already in the last lap and I was like ‘ok it’s probably going to turn out like that’ but I needed to be careful that I’m not stopped by Ana that the others come back,” van Rouwendaal said. “When Ana Marcela is next to me, it is always very hard to pull myself away from her. She has a really great tactic with that, so I was just sticking to my line until the end. I’m happy to share a podium with them, it proves we are stable and really strong open water swimmers.”
Andre finished in fourth at 59:35.6, while Pozzobon was fifth at 59:35.8, and Brazil’s Viviane Jungblut (59:38.2) was sixth. Muller (59:40.1) and Fabian (59:44.2) were seventh and eighth while early race leader Johnson faded to tenth at 59:46.3.
Portugal’s Mafalda Rosa placed ninth at 59:44.6.
61 swimmers entered the race and 57 athletes finished.
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