David Betlehem and Isabel Gose won their respective 3km knockout sprint crowns on the penultimate day of open water in Paris.
Betlehem won in 6:12.19 ahead of French pair Marc-Antoine Olivier (6:16.2) and Logan Fontaine (6:16.4) as the Hungarian added the title to his 5k and 10k silvers.
Gose came through in 6:41.0 to take the title in 6:41.0 ahead of Bettina Fabian (6:44.1) and Ginevra Taddeucci (6:44.8) who added bronze to her double gold over 5k and 10k.
The open water programme continued after a free day in the calendar which ordinarily would have been a training day.
However, despite water quality tests, a small amount of oil/fuel was seen near the competition area so the training session was cancelled. European Aquatics conducted a further test ahead of the 3k sprints to ensure the water met the required standards.
It meant the River Seine was ready for the sprint knockout competitions although the rules slightly changed with the second round featuring two heats instead of one. Each athlete would now need to make the top 10 in their respective first-round heat to qualify for the second round, and then the top five in that to make the final.
Women’s 3km knockout sprint
Bettina Fabian of Hungary, silver, Isabel Gose of Germany, gold, Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy, bronze: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
The women began their campaign in the coldest water temperatures of the week. With the first round consisting of a 1500m swim, the first heat saw many of the athletes get stuck in and around each other, as they struggled to break through.
Linda Caponi of Italy led home 10 athletes who took their spots in the second round. The competition had more urgency in the second heat with Gose taking first place with a time that was 23 seconds quicker than Caponi’s, as a further 10 athletes progressed.
The second round followed a similar pattern, with the first heat going stroke for stroke as the top five qualifying athletes were only separated by 1.2 seconds. France’s Ines Delacroix, took first place in the first heat in a tie with Hungary’s Fabian, as three other athletes progressed to the 10-woman showdown.
That race was a tactical masterclass by Gose. The German was ahead by the first turning buoy and kicked on down the first half of the final straight to create an unassailable advantage.
“It’s a great feeling,” Gose told European Aquatics. “So I’m one week here now and it was time to race for me. It’s a bit hard to keep the the mind high and being mentally prepared for the race the whole week but I’m pretty happy that I have got the European title now.
“It was pretty important that I was able to go into the front the way up and keep the girls behind me so that I’m going to have free space for my swim.”
Men’s 3km knockout sprint
The men’s heats were more even in terms of timings, with Germany’s Johannes Liebmann and Florian Wellbrock, the latter also a two-time European champion from this week, leading out the first two heats, before Liebmann and compatriot Oliver Klemet kept the German clean sweep going in the second round.
Marc-Antoine Olivier of France, silver, David Betlehem of Hungary, gold, Logan Fontaine of France, bronze: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala, Deepbluemedia
The final also brought some drama. A handful of athletes kept the pace as they came into the final 200 metres, and it seemed as though the race was on the brink of a photo finish.
That was until Betlehem came seemingly out of nowhere down the left-hand side, surged past the field from a wide position, and took a convincing victory with a time of 6:12.9 ahead of Olivier and Fontaine.
“This day is awesome,” said Betlehem. “It was another great race. Over the first 1500m I felt the pain from the previous days’ races and a thought crossed my mind that perhaps two medals already look fine, but then I saw the others that they faced the same challenges with their bodies, so I just went for it.”
He added: “Perhaps it looked crazy from the shore but it worked as only a jetski followed me after a while and I was like, ‘OK, if they didn’t bring someone to drop after me (from the jetski), then the plan is working’. I’m happy to win gold after the two silvers, to prove that I can be the best at least in one race here.”