On August 9, 2024 at the Paris Olympic Kristof Rasovszky earned the gold medal in the men’s 10km marathon swim. This event was held at the Seine River and featured the most talented long-distance swimmers in the world. Contestants included Florian Wellbrock from Germany who was the previous Olympic and world champion as well as Gregorio Paltrinieri who claimed bronze in the Tokyo Olympics.
When the race started, the previous world champion Wellbrock took the early lead, maintaining a severe distance from the rest. However, as the race progressed, Rasovszky slowly gained speed, slowly decreasing Wellbrocks advantage. At the 6.6km point came the turning point, Rasovszky took the lead despite Wallbrock’s heavy lead. Other swimmers include Paltrinieri and Klement, followed by Acerenza, and Hungary’s David Betlehem were closing the gap.
In the final kilometers, despite Wellbrocks effort to catch up, he was left in 8th place, having the final time of 1:51:54. Kristof Rasovszky secured the Gold medal with the time of 1:50:52, only 2.1 seconds faster than Oliver Klement and 17 seconds faster than Betlehem claiming third. This was a historical achievement for Hungary, being the first time two athletes were on the podium. Alongside Hungary’s accomplishment, it was a massive fulfillment for Rasovszky since he claimed silver in Tokyo, he expressed his victory as a dream come true.
In conclusion, Rasovszky’s victory in the 10km marathon swim at the Paris 2024 Olympics is both a personal success and an achievement for Hungary. This race is a great example of unity and the strive for excellence which are spirits of the Olympics that were passed down for generations.
