Italy enjoyed an outstanding day at the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup at Balatonfured (HUN) as Simone Ruffini won the men’s race and Rachele Bruni came first among the women.
Unlike last year, when a cold spell in the weather cooled down the lake to 18-19 degrees prior to the event, this edition offered perfect conditions for the participants. Gorgeous sunshine, fine water temperature (23.4), light winds awaited the swimmers and the star-studded field didn’t disappoint the thousands gathering at the shore.
Simone Ruffini prepares for the race - Credit: Aniko Kovacs
In the men’s race the lead was constantly changing, Sean Ryan (USA) topped the ranks with a lap to go but in the tight finish he finally missed the podium: the top four came in a span of three seconds, Ruffini pulled out a fine win, slightly ahead of Andreas Waschburger (GER) who might have some consolation after missing the cut for the Olympics a week ago at the qualification tournament in Setubal. Olympic bronze medallist Richard Weinberger (CAN) came third here as well, just passing Ryan in the last rush.
The men's medallists: Waschburger, Ruffini and Weinberger
“I’m extremely happy to win this race” Ruffini said. “I fell in love with Lake Balaton, today we have perfect circumstances so you can’t have any better feeling to win a competition like this at one of your favourite venues. The field was really strong so it makes this win even more valuable. I’m really looking forward to return here next year for the World Championships.”
A scene from the feeding pontoon
Among the women Olympic champion Eva Risztov (HUN), racing in home waters, led the pack for three rounds but Rachele Bruni took charge in the penultimate lap and managed to widen the gap during the last 2km. The Italian, overall title-holder in the World Cup, had pretty much left in the tank as she rushed ahead and built a 5-8 metres lead which she easily maintained till the very end. Bruni won by an unusual margin (11sec), while the battle for the minor spoils were pretty heated. Haley Anderson (USA), Olympic runner-up and 5km world champion clinched the silver while the photo finish saw Isabelle Harle (GER) out-touching Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) for the bronze, by 0.08sec. Risztov faded a bit in the meantime, finished 8th, though by just 5sec behind the bronze medallist.
The moment of win for Bruni
“I came fourth last year now I managed to win and this makes me really satisfied” Bruni said. ”Here I raced against six-seven girls who will also be present in Rio so I could meet with some of my greatest rivals, this is also really important. And it was an honour to race against Eva Risztov, the Olympic champion at her home and to finish ahead of her is a huge accomplishment for me, though I know she had everything to retain her title in Rio.”
The women's medallists: Anderson, Bruni and Harle
FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup, Balatonfured (HUN)
Men
1. Simone Ruffini (ITA) 1:50:25.04
2. Andreas Waschburger (GER) 1:50:26.79
3. Richard Weinberger (CAN) 1:50:27.17
4. Sean Ryan (USA) 1:50:28.37
5. Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) 1:50:35.36
Women
1. Rachele Bruni (ITA) 1:59:58.01
2. Haley Anderson (USA) 2:00:09.81
3. Isabelle Harle (GER) 2:00:11.54
4. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) 2:00:11.62
5. Anna Olasz (HUN) 2:00:13.27