Gregorio Paltrinieri And Mira Szimcsak On Form At LEN Open Water Cup
Gregorio Paltrinieri claimed his first win of the 2022 LEN Open Water Cup in Alghero, Sardinia, with Mira Szimcsak prevailing in a tight finish to take the women’s race.
Paltrinieri won bronze in the opening two legs and on Friday he withstood the pressure from Italy team-mate Domenico Acerenza to win in 1hr 49mins 45.7secs.
Acerenza (1:49:46.5) and Marcello Guidi (1:50:01.9) completed an Italian podium.
The women’s race produced an unexpected outcome with Hungarian 18-year-old Szimcsak holding on with the seniors and then out-touching Vivian Jungblut of Brazil and Italy’s nine-time European champion Rachele Bruni.
The 2018 European junior 5k champion Szimcsak was first home in 1:58:36.1 ahead of Jungblut (1:58:36.2) and Bruni (1:58:36.3).
Giulia Gabbrielleschi joined the Hungarian and fellow Italian on the podium as the top three European finishers, Jungblut also awarded a medal.
The series resumes after the FINA World Championships with the next leg in Belgrade on 10 July