Shelley Taylor-Smith Heaps Praise On Chelsea Gubecka Who Leaves Olympic Golden Girls Behind in Israel
Legendary Australian open water swimmer Shelley Taylor-Smith has heaped praise on her fellow countrywoman Chelsea Gubecka after a momentous marathon win – after 10 years in the sport.
The never-say-die Queenslander broke through for her maiden international victory in the final round of the FINA 10km Open Water World Cup in Israel – toppling two Olympic champions in the process.
STANDING TALL: Chelsea Gubecka finally on top of the podium. Photo Courtesy: Speedo Australia.
The 24-year-old Gubecka, who made her international debut at 14 and her Olympic debut at 17, held her nerve on the final lap in Eilat to hold off the star-studded field.
A field that included the last two Olympic gold medallists, Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha (Tokyo, 2020) and The Netherlands Sharon Van Rouwendaal (Rio, 2016) – who also won silver behind Cunha in Tokyo.
With all the attention on the deadlock between Cunha and Van Rouwendaal for the overall Fina World Cup Series crown, it was Gubecka in the very end who came out on top and surprised them all with her first major win in 1:56:19.80.
A just reward for 10 devoted years to the grueling sport of marathon swimming.
Taylor-Smith, the first Fina World Swimming champion over 25km in her hometown of Perth in 1991, was instrumental in her role with Fina to have the 10km marathon added to the Olympic program for Beijing in 2008 – and it has gone from strength to strength ever since.
She has followed Gubecka’s career through her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 as a 17-year-old and her journey through five World Championship campaigns – her first as a 14-year-old.
HEAD ABOVE WATER: Just rewards for 10 years in the rough and tumble world of marathon swimming. Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia.
Finally standing on top of the podium after moving programs from long-serving coach Michael Sage and her home on the Sunshine Coast to join Brisbane’s Yeronga Park club and coaches Rob Van Der Zant and Kate Sparkes some two years ago – earning praise from Taylor-Smith.
“Now that is racing! Brilliant racing strategies in action from Chelsea. That is how you win. You have to show up and you have to play the game,” said Taylor-Smith after watching Gubecka’s finest hour.
“That was a world class field out there today… including multiple Olympic and world champions like Anna Marcela Cunha, Sharon Van Rouwendaal and Aurelie Muller from France.
“When you decide to take the lead… with one kilometre to go… now that takes not only stamina but it takes a resilient mindset. A belief that no matter what is happening behind you, you’re able to stay focused on your game plan!
“And then you get to that final 90secs which was a pure master class. Cunha increased her tempo and powered past Muller to be neck-and-neck with Gubecka for the final 30m… but then the Aussie is absolutely breathtaking to watch as she enters the finish shute with 20m to go, she drives her legs and within five seconds she opens up a body length lead then two body lengths, powering home to the gold.
“Brava Chelsea….brava …Australia salutes you!”
Gubecka paced the race perfectly, climbing to the lead on the final lap with Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci who faded to ninth despite holding the lead heading into lap six.
Cunha finished second in the race in 1:56:23.60 and won the overall World Cup title after Van Rouwendaal had made a move on lap four but couldn’t quite get it going, as she finished fifth overall at 1:56:28.20.
Germany’s Leonie Beck finished third overall at 1:56:25.30, getting the touch over France’s Muller (1:56:25.40).
Van Rouwendaal finished ahead of Hungary’s Mira Szimcsak (1:56:29.50) who was sixth after also featuring in the lead early on in the race.
Gubecka held her lead, despite veering a little bit away from the pack on the final straightaway but held on to claim her first win in the Series in only her second race, beating two of the best open water swimmers in history in Cunha and Van Rouwendaal.
“I’m a bit speechless, to be honest,” Gubecka said after the race. “I got on that last lap, and I just had that little extra surge of energy and that felt great.”
And it was a proud moment for Chelsea’s father Serg who provided this tribute to his daughter.
“It was a very proud parent moment given Chelsea started her journey in international swimming at the age of 14,” Mr Gubecka said.
“In the last 10 years, Chelsea has had several top 10 finishes and a top four in Portugal, but this is by far her best result on the world stage.
“Chelsea has won the Australian title five times, been to five World championships, has swum at about 20 World Series events and represented Australia at the Rio Olympics in 2016.”
The day before her 10km triumph Gubecka, with Yeronga Park team mate Bianca Crisp and leading Australian males Nick Sloman (the best of the Australian men in 11th place over the 10km) and Kyle Lee had staged a thrilling duel with France and holding off a star-studded Italian Team, to win silver in the 4x1500m relay.
Aurelie Mueller, Lisa Pou, David Aubry and Marc-Antoine Olivier scored the victory after Muller jumped out to the lead on the opening leg, going toe-to-toe with the Italians. ,
The Australians, led off by Crisp (17:32.50), jumped to the lead on the second leg with Gubecka grabbing two seconds on Italy with Pou (France) falling back nearly six seconds behind the Aussies.
But it was France’s male duo of Aubry and Olivier that helped grab the lead back and hang on to it as Aubry pulled closer to the Italians on the third leg with Australia’s Lee in tow.
Aubry had climbed back to be within two seconds of the leaders at the end of his leg, but it appeared with the great Gregorio Paltrinieri anchoring that Italy seemed home and hosed.
But Olivier and Australia’s Sloman turned the afterburners on in the last leg, out-sprinting the Olympic 1500m gold medallist from Rio and Tokyo 10km bronzer medallist Paltrinieri on the final straightaway.
Olivier got the touch at the end of the 4×1500 at 1:06:35.40 to Sloman’s 1:06:36.60 and Paltrinieri’s 1:06:37.00.
Australia’s second relay squad, Team Gold, saw Finella Gibbs-Beal, Madisyn Armstrong, Bailey Armstrong and Tokyo Olympian Kai Edwards finish in sixth.