After Hungarian teammates Kristóf Rasovszky (gold) and Dávid Betlehem (bronze) won medals in the inaugural men’s 3 km Knockout Sprint at the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships earlier this morning, then it was Bettina Fábián‘s turn to stand on top of the podium in the women’s afternoon event on Day Three of the Championships in Stari Grad, Croatia.
Fábian timed her three Knockout swims well. She placed fourth in the 1.5 km First Round heat, advancing with the top 16 finishers. Then only minutes later, she placed second in the 1 km Second Round heat, advancing with the top 10 finishers. Then 10 minutes later, she won the Final 500-meter heat with a comfortable 4-second margin.
After she incurred an injury en route to her fifth place finish in the 10 km on Day One, Fábian sat out the 5 km race yesterday. She ultimately used the unexpected respite to her advantage on Day Three.
There appears to be three keys to success in the Knockout Sprint:
- ability to race strategically in each heat
- recover well without a traditional warm-down between each heat
- start and sprint well on the final 500m straightaway final
Fábián has swum a 1:59 in the 200 meters and a 4:07 in the 400 meters in the pool so she has quick speed that she used well in the Knockout Sprint. Same with Rasovszky who has 1:49 speed in the 200 meters and 3:45 speed in the 400 meters in a pool. That kind of speed combined with their vast open water swimming experience is a winning combination in the new Knockout Sprint races.
3 km Knockout Sprints – Final Heat Results
- Bettina Fábián Hungary 5:19.83
- Paula Otero Fernández Spain 5:23.83
- Lea Boy Germany 5:25.22
- Ginevra Taddeucci Italy 5:25.41
- Antonietta Cesarano Italy 5:29.23
- Clémence Coccordano France 5:29.55
- Klaudia Tarasiewicz Poland 5:29.65
- Celine Rieder Germany 5:29.72
- Maria de Valdes Alvarez Spain 5:29.73
- Giulia Gabbrielleschi Italy 5:29.88
For more information, visit europeanaquatics.org.
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