Sacha Velly & Leonie Beck Claim Victories At LEN Open Water Cup
Sacha Velly and Leonie Beck were the respective winners of the men’s and women’s races in the second leg of the LEN Open Water Cup in Piombino, Italy.
It was a first major victory for Frenchman Velly who, at 17, is another bright prospect to emerge from the Philippe Lucas‘ stable.
He swam a smart race to finish at the head of a field of 101 men in 1hr 50mins 30.2secs with Italian pair Marcello Guidi (1:50:33.8) and Gregorio Paltrinieri (1:50:41.7) also on the podium.
Beck enjoyed a comfortable eight-second victory in 2:00:43.7 with Italian athletes again occupying second and third in the form of Rachele Bruni (2:00.43.7) and Giulia Gabbrielleschi (2:00:45.0).
Alghero, Italy, plays host to the next leg on 20 May with Belgrade (Serbia) and Kiel (Germany) staging events in July and August respectively before the final leg in Barcelona in September.