Hungary Win Relay To Claim Fifth Gold & Team Trophy At European Open Water Championships
Hungary won the team 4x1500m relay to claim their fifth gold and unprecedented success at the European Open Water Championships in Stari Grad.
The quartet of Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas, Bettina Fábián, Dávid Betlehem and Kristóf Rasovszky came home in 1:03:39.45 to take the title ahead of Italy (1:03:41.39) and France (1:03:41.72).
It brought to nine the total of medals won by Hungary across the four-day meet in Croatia comprising five golds, two silvers and two bronzes, the best performance since the event was first held in 1989, surpassing the five golds and a silver Italy claimed in 2011.
They also claimed the Team Trophy for the first time with 192 points followed by Italy (183) and France (144.)
Betlehem edged ahead of Italy’s Marcello Guidi and Sacha Velly of France at the end of the penultimate lap where he handed over to Rasovszky with Gregorio Paltrinieri and Logan Fontaine diving in for Italy and France respectively.
Paltrinieri, who won the 5k on Thursday, moved into the lead. Rasovszky and Fontaine responded going into turn with the former having the inside line as they came around.
Come the final few hundred metres and it became a shootout between Paltrinieri and Rasovszky with the Hungarian touching the panel for victory.
It was a third gold medal for Rasovszky who added the relay to the 3k knockout sprint and 10k titles, after securing the latter crown for the first time in European waters on the opening day. The 28-year-old also won bronze in the 5k.
He said through the Hungarian federation: “I asked the others at the beginning to lead at the changeover by as many margins as possible, because I wanted to avoid Gregorio Paltrinieri making fun of us at the end. It didn’t work out that way, so my goal from then on was not to drive, because it’s very depressing when you are overtaken from behind. I was like, Paltrinieri should go ahead, and I also had to make sure that the French boy, Logan Fontaine, didn’t get next to me, because he can also be incredibly fast. We did it, I’m happy to defend the title.”
Mihályvári-Farkas won the women’s 10k in only her second international open water race which she followed up with 5k silver and the team title.
“My goal was not to get into the grinder at the start, as I started next to the German and Italian girls, and Kristóf asked me to change-over ahead of my Italian opponent,” she said. “I tried to position myself so that I left as few people as possible for the others – that’s pretty much what I did. I’m happy to be a part of this team.”
Fabian won the women’s 3k sprint while Betlehem leaves Croatia with a medal of each colour adding the relay title to 5k silver and 3k knockout bronze.
Paltrinieri and Ginevra Taddeucci won Italy’s two golds in their respective 5k races with the former saying: “A lot of new guys are starting open water in Italy. Maybe because of us. It’s great to inspire new guys and people all around Italy.”
Medal table
Hungary 5-2-2
Italy 2-2-0
France 0-2-2
Spain 0-1-1
Germany 0-0-2
Team Trophy
Hungary 192
Italy. 183
France 144
Germany 82
Spain 66