World Aquatics C’ships: Wellbrock, Beck claim gold in 5km open water swimming

• Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck won gold medals.
• Germany won all 4 open water swimming events.
• Wellbrock and Beck both expressed surprise at their victories.

Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck, both representing Germany, achieved remarkable victories in open water swimming at the World Aquatics Championships.

Wellbrock, who had already secured a gold medal in the 10km event, continued his success by claiming the men’s 5km title with a time of 53 minutes and 58 seconds. In the women’s race over the same distance, Beck emerged as the champion.

Wellbrock’s compatriot, Leonie Beck, accomplished a similar feat in the women’s category. The German duo showcased their dominance by winning both events.

In the men’s race, Gregorio Paltrinieri from Italy secured the silver medal with a time of 54:02.50, while Domenico Acerenza, also from Italy, finished in third place with a time of 54:04.20.

Germany maintained an unblemished record in open water events, securing their fourth consecutive victory. Earlier in the day, Leonie Beck had already claimed the women’s 10km title, and she further added to her achievements by winning the women’s 5km race.

This success continued Germany’s dominance in open water swimming at the World Aquatics Championships, solidifying their position as the team to beat in these events.

The individual, aged 25, who had previously emerged victorious in the 10km competition during the 2019 Gwangju world championships and secured first place in the 5km event in Budapest last year, expressed the opinion that the shorter race was the more challenging of the two.

Beck, just like Wellbrock, expressed her astonishment at winning another race within a span of four days.