Axel Reymond<\/strong> and Lea Boy<\/strong> claimed the final gold medals of the open water programme at the European Aquatics Championships with victory in the respective men’s and women’s 25k races at Lupa Beach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Reymond, winner of the last two world titles, moved from ninth to first at the halfway stage and maintained that lead throughout to stop the clock at 4hrs 35mins 59.8secs.<\/p>\n
Matteo Furlan<\/strong> of Italy moved from third with 750m remaining to take second in 4:36:05.01, one place ahead of Russian Kirill Abrosimov<\/strong> whose final charge of 7:34.4 propelled him from sixth to third.<\/p>\n
Reymond admitted he had felt a sense of expectation as he aimed for his third European 25k title and fourth medal overall.<\/p>\n
So too was he glad to have prevented an Italian clean sweep of the men’s titles, saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really good race. I tried to increase my lead a bunch of times but that was difficult since we are all swimming at the same speed, more or less, because of the wetsuits.<\/p>\n
“So I decided just to stay ahead and do my own thing at my own pace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“I felt really good leading. Once we went by the last fuelling station, I started to accelerate.<\/p>\n
“I saw nobody was trying really hard to keep up with me, so I thought, \u2018Okay, I can win this.\u2019<\/p>\n
“Of course, there was a lot of pressure [as the reigning two-time World champion].<\/p>\n
“I tried not to think about it too much and to stay serene.<\/p>\n
“I just wanted to win the European title again, I know the Italians were fighting for it.<\/p>\n
“They wanted to win this race because they have won every other one here.<\/p>\n
“So I am very happy to have shown that I am still here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Furlan added:<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m really happy to make the podium after such a tough race. I had a very tough duel with the Russian guy, that burnt a lot of energy and made it impossible to think of catching Axel.<\/p>\n
“However, I\u2019m extremely proud as I was the oldest man in the leading pack and I could still win a medal and that\u2019s so great.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The march of covid-19 meant the Europeans were postponed from May 2020, something Abrosimov acknowledged as he revelled in finishing among the medals in his maiden 25k, saying:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI was waiting for these Championships so long, fortunately, it took place – that\u2019s why I competed in all disciplines.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m so happy that I can finally smile in the mixed zone and enjoy the moment of winning a medal.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s the first time I ever did 25 km and won a bronze right away, it\u2019s incredible!<\/p>\n
“At the same time, I was well prepared both physically and psychologically, I wasn\u2019t nervous before the start.<\/p>\n
“It was a great experience, now I understand how to strategically plan such a long distance in future.<\/p>\n
“Today the tactics were to save energy for the last kilometres, then I pushed myself forward right before the finish.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Boy, who claimed silver on Saturday as part of the German quartet that finished second in the team event, traded the lead with team-mate Elea Linka<\/strong> before taking over at 21,750m.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old extended her lead from that point to take the title in 4:53:57.0.<\/p>\n
Frenchwoman and 2018 bronze medallist Lara Grangeon<\/strong> overturned a 1.5-sec deficit at the final marker to prevail in a sprint finish with Barbara Pozzobon<\/strong> and claim silver by 0.03 in 4:54:58.4.<\/p>\n
Pozzobon took bronze in 4:54:58.7 as Italy concluded a fine campaign in the open water that has brought eight medals.<\/p>\n
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Boy was shocked by her victory, saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very tough race. This was my second 25km, I didn\u2019t have any plan – I just wanted to swim the race, not really expecting anything, just trying to push the last one-and-a-half laps.<\/p>\n
“To be honest, I was the most surprised when I saw that no-one could come with me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For Grangeon, persistence and determination brought her the silver medal and the greatest pleasure as she said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so happy, mostly because of my mindset.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to give up multiple times during this race.<\/p>\n
“It was one of the hardest races of my career, I also got hit and had yet another side stitch.<\/p>\n
“But then I told myself, \u2018Lara, you\u2019re representing France. If this happens at the Olympics, you can\u2019t give up.\u2019<\/p>\n
“I had to use this as experience and to give it my all until the end. I am very happy about my performance and how far I could push myself mentally.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia\/Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n
Pozzobon was also delighted with her bronze, saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis medal is a prize for so many years of hard work. This is the first international medal and the most important one I\u2019ve ever won.<\/p>\n
“The race was very hard \u2013 yesterday I had so much pain but today I was feeling well. It was not possible to catch up with the German girl so I had to battle with the French, she was faster than me at the finish line but I\u2019m still very happy with this bronze.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Gregorio Paltrinieri<\/strong> won the 5\/10k double<\/a> with Dario Verani<\/strong> making it an Italy one-three in the former with Giulia Gabrielleschi <\/strong>(5k silver) and Rachele Bruni<\/strong> (10k bronze) also on the individual podium before Sunday’s two-strong medal charge.<\/p>\n
Not to forget Saturday’s title in the team event<\/a> meaning Paltrinieri heads to the pool with three gold medals in his cabinet.<\/p>\n
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