BUDAPEST, Hungary, July 28. GERMANY has dominated the open water swimming events at the 28th LEN European Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Over the first two days of competition, Germany has snared three out of four golds and five medals overall.
In the men’s 10k open water race, Germany demonstrated is strength with a one-three finish. Thomas Lurz (1:58:12.1) and Christian Hein (1:58:16.6) picked up gold and bronze, respectively, while Maarten Van Dee Weijden of the Netherlands pocketed silver with a 1:58:13.5 in the event on Wednesday.
In the women’s 5k open water event, Russia’s Ekaterina Seliverstova rolled to victory in 1:01:50.8, while France’s Cathi Dietrich claimed silver in 1:01:52.3. Czech Jana Pechanova and Russian Larisa Ilchenko both garnered bronze by tying in 1:01:52.4.
In Thursday’s men’s 5k race, the Germans swept the top two spots as Lurz won gold in 56:00.1 and Hein placed just behind in 56:01.1. Italy’s Simone Ercoli rounded out the podium with a 56:01.8.
In the women’s 10k, Germany struck again as Angela Maurer claimed gold in 2:07:10.8, while Hungary’s Rita Kovacs placed second in 2:07:14.3. Pechanova earned another medal with bronze by clocking a 2:07:15.6.