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Saturday, July 20, 2019, 23:28
Xin turns the tide for China
By Xinhua
Saturday, July 20, 2019, 23:28 By Xinhua

Swimmer’s triumph ends nation’s wait for open water gold medal

Xin Xin of China stands with her gold medal after the women's 10 km open water swim at the World Swimming Championships in South Korea on July 14, 2019. (PHOTO / IC)

With childlike glee, Xin Xin ran into the arms of her coach and asked: “Am I good?”

“Perfect!” replied her mentor, Jin Hao. And he was right. Xin had just claimed gold with a superbly timed tactical effort in the women’s 10km open water race at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Yeosu, South Korea, on July 14.

It was the first ever open water gold medal for China at the championships. “I didn’t expect I could be the champion. I just thought I should swim as easy as possible in the first part of the race by following the big stars. I wanted to keep more energy for the last lap, and I did it!” said the 22-year-old.

After finishing fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 11th at the Budapest worlds two years ago, Xin was overjoyed to finally have gold around her neck and clinch qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the process.

“It was my dream to become the world champion. It was my great honor to raise our national flag and listen to the national anthem on top of the podium!” said Xin, who was a little unprepared for the medal ceremony and had to borrow the correct clothes from a teammate.

“Maybe I should bring my medal ceremony suit all the time. I believe that I can swim better and better in the future.

“My goal before this competition was to qualify for the Olympics,” added Xin, who will be competing in her third Games in Tokyo.

“My strategy today was to relax and save energy in the first half, and to keep clear in my mind and also to maintain my confidence.”

A total of 64 swimmers competed in the race, with the top 10 finishers qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

Against an experienced field in warm conditions, Xin was content to follow the leading pack for most of the race, then timed her breakaway on the last lap to perfection. She finished in one hour 54 minutes 47.20 seconds, pipping Haley Anderson (1:54:48.10) of the United States to gold by just 0.90 seconds. Italy’s Rachele Bruni finished third (1:54:49.90).

Olympic champion Sharon Van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands was 10th. Two-time world champion Aurelie Muller, of France, was 11th.



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