Olympic bronze medalist Dávid Betlehem won the men’s 10-kilometer race on Friday at the World Cup competition for open water swimmers in Golfo Aranci, Sardinia.
The 22-year-old competitor fought his way to the front of the pack, then chose a great tactic and sprinted excellently on the outside curve, thanks to which he triumphed confidently.
Behind Betlehem, France’s Logain Fontaine finished second, winning the World Cup series in the 10 km event this year. Italy’s Dario Verani finished third in Friday’s race.
“I am very happy, because this year I came in 34th place, then 7th, and now I have this gold medal, my first World Cup victory,” Dávid Betlehem told the Hungarian Swimming Federation.
He added: “Since September, I have had a completely different attitude. I do not see swimming as a life-and-death struggle anymore. I try to enjoy it and approach it with a new mindset, and so far, it has worked pretty well at the European Cups and here too. Obviously, there will be times when I will not be on the podium or even in the top ten, but the main thing is to enjoy the competitions, to go out there knowing that I am one of the best in the world, so I have nothing to fear.
Today, everything came together, both in the sprint lap and in the final sprint, which means I can always surprise myself a little.”
In addition to the surprise, the victory also earned the swimmer a well-deserved prize of $16,500.
The website of the Hungarian Swimming Federation recalls that Dávid Betlehem had a sensational autumn:
within a month, he won gold and then silver at the last two stages of the European Cup series.
Now, he has won the World Cup competition in Golfo Aranci with a fantastic performance, competing against a much more prestigious field of world championship-caliber swimmers.
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Dávid Bethlehem Tops Global Rankings in Open Water Swimming
The 21-year-old athlete improved his previous position by four places.Continue reading
Via MTI, hunswim.com; Featured image: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
The post Open Water World Cup: Betlehem Wins Gold with Sensational Swimming appeared first on Hungary Today.
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