Alan Nosov and Kira Guseva claimed Russia’s second and third gold medals of the Junior Open Water World Championships by storming to victory in their respective 5km races.
It was Kseniia Misharina who set the winning tone in the 7.5km event, on a day where her nation would feature on the podium a total of four times.
A gutsy race from Alan Nosov in the Boys' 14-15 yrs 5km saw him leading the race from the very beginning; establishing a healthy lead over the rest of the field early on.
Nosov recently won silver at the European Junior Championships in this event, so was pipped as one to watch before the start-horn sounded.
“It was a very hard race for me,” he said during his flash interview.
"I’m very proud of myself for being the winner here today"
“Thank you to my coach back home in Russia, and thanks to my family as well.”
Nosov followed his teammate Misharina’s lead, putting the hammer down early to separate himself from the pack that would never quite be able to catch him.
Unsurprisingly, it was a quick race in the end, with Nosov touching in 55:59.4 ahead of silver medallist Sawyer Hansen (56:36.9) and bronze medal winner Ibrahim Burhan (56:38.5).
Double Silver for Hansen Siblings
Remarkably, Sawyer Hansen was the second Hansen sibling to feature on the podium today after his older sister, Brinkleigh Hansen, won silver in the 7.5km event.
After Nosov’s early break away, it was up to the rest of the pack to maintain the pace and try to bridge the gap.
Hansen featured heavily in those efforts at the front of the chase pack, and a consistent swim from the 15-year-old saw him hold his silver medal position throughout the race.
His podium finish marks his first international medal, something which he got to share with his entire family who are in Santa Fe this week to support him and his older siblings, Brinkleigh and Karrington.
“I’m just so blessed to race all these great swimmers and to represent Team USA and to be compared to my sister is a great honour.
"Having three people to represent Team USA all from my own family, another one from my club team, it’s just so awesome to be around people I know and to engage with other competitors"
Ibrahim Burhan Rights Wrong of European Juniors
Türkiye’s Ibrahim Burhan came out on top in what was a tight contest for bronze between himself, fourth-place finisher, Carter Markgraaff (RSA), and fifth-place finisher, Lazar Pannonhalmi (HUN).
Burhan finished just outside the medals in fourth place at the recent European Junior Championships in Hungary, and sought to right that wrong today.
His medal in Santa Fe signifies his first piece of international hardware, and sets him up well for the upcoming 3km Knockout Sprint event.
Kira Guseva Blows Field Apart in Women’s 5km
In what was the most dominant win we’ve seen so far at these championships, Kira Guseva powered her way to victory in the Girls' 14-15 yrs 5km.
Guseva - reigning European Junior Champion in this event - went off like a rocket at the start of the race, pulling ahead to put some early clear water between her and the rest of the field.
Her lead would only grow as the race progressed, which miraculously, she said wasn’t actually her game plan going into the race.
“I didn’t plan to be the first to break away, but I realised it was the only way to do it as it would be quite challenging to compete with the others. I decided to go first to keep the distance and it helped me win.”
Favouring clear water and her own space, Guseva added that she never worried about dropping the pace:
"Maintaining this pace was my goal during the race, I aimed to keep going further and faster"
“It was a big effort, but of course nothing happens without effort behind it.”
Guseva smiled as she noted that today is her grandmother’s birthday, and so dedicated her win to her.
“I’m very happy because I prepared for this for a long time and worked hard, it’s been a dream of mine. Today is my grandmother’s birthday, so I think I did it for her.”
Siniakova Shares Podium with Teammate
European Junior silver medallist, Anastasiia Siniakova joined teammate Guseva on the podium once again with silver in the 5km event - an exact replica of their result in Sukoró.
It was an extremely tight fight for silver, with Siniakova and bronze medallist Sofia Ovalles going head to head down the finishing straight.
After getting her hand to the touchpad second, Siniakova said she was proud to feature there once again on the world stage.
“It’s very nice, very honorable to be on the podium with someone from my team. We managed this result at the European Championships and here it happened again.
“We can do it in Europe, we can do it here, so we will continue working and maybe do something even better in future competitions.”
Argentine Pride Firmly on Display With Ovalles Medal Win
Sofia Ovalles’ bronze medal win had the home crowd bursting with pride and support for the 14-year-old; an experience she is unlikely to ever forget.
With the weight of a nation seemingly on her shoulders, she paced the race perfectly - staying within the top ten before moving to the front of the race on the third lap.
Speaking after the race, she said: “I can hardly believe it - it feels like a dream. I never thought I’d do this well, but I was confident; I thought about it a lot, visualised it constantly, and really wanted to make the podium for Argentina.
“On that very last lap, I told myself, "I'm right there - this is it, just one lap to go." I’d always trained for this during the Argentine championship rounds - pushing harder and harder on that final lap.
"As I went, I kept thinking about everything I’d endured in training, everything I’d been through... and well, my body held up!"
Action continues with the Men’s and Women’s 3km Knockout Sprint events, which will take place tomorrow at 10:00am and 12:00pm local time, respectively. You can keep up to do with the action via the live stream on the World Aquatics YouTube page.