2024 Paris Olympics Open Water Swimming
Women’s 10km Start Lists
The 2024 Olympics open water swimming events kick off on Thursday morning, August 8th, in the Seine River that winds through Paris. The competitors will complete six circuits of a 1.67-kilometer loop between the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont de l’Alma; they’ll have the current at their backs going downstream, and they’ll fight against it on the way back.
We begin with the women’s 10km race, which pits Dutch veteran and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Sharon van Rouwendaal against defending Olympic Champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil. American Katie Grimes, who won the bronze medal in the 10km at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, is also a threat for the Olympic title this year. Her teammate Mariah Denigan, who placed 6th at the 2024 World Championships, is making her Olympic debut this year.
France has a pair of entrants who can’t be overlooked, especially given the unbridled enthusiasm displayed by the home crowd. Caroline Jouisse and Oceane Cassignol are first-time Olympians; they qualified by finishing 7th and 10th, respectively, in the 10km at the 2024 World Championships. Lisa Pou, who changed sporting nationalities from France to Monaco last fall, will also be swimming in front of a friendly audience.
Women’s Open Water 10k Top 8:
Moesha Johnson of Australia led the field on the first downstream leg, making it around the two buoys in front of Bettina Fabian of Hungary, van Rouwendaal, and Cunha. As much as they bunched together on the downstream leg of lap 1, the swimmers were forced by the current into a long line, butting up against the river wall, on the way back. Italians Ginevra Taddeucci and Giulia Gabbrielleschi led the way, with Johnson in third place.
As swimmers came in for fueling at the feed station on the top end of the course, the pack divided into smaller groups. 2016 gold medalist Van Rouwendaal took over the lead in the front pack, headed downstream on lap 2 followed by Cunha and Johnson.
The second group rejoined the lead group on the upstream half of lap 2 but van Rouwendaal maintained her position in front. Johnson passed the Italian duo and held on at second place, about a body length behind van Rouwendaal. Australia’s Chelsea Gubecka of Australia was in 5th place.
As they finished lap 2 and made it through the chute, they stopped to fuel at the feeding station and then took off to attack the 3rd downstream leg. Van Rouwendaal, Johnson, Taddeucci, and Gabbrielleschi held their formation at the lead of the lead pack. Japan’s Airi Ebina and Australia’s Gubecka moved up to 3rd and 4th behind van Rouwendaal and Johnson on the upstream leg of lap 3. Again, the chase group closed the gap with the lead group on the upstream leg, but van Rouwendaal and Johnson allowed no one into their space. Cunha worked her way back to 4th place as they swam past the grandstands full of cheering flag-wavers.
Johnson maneuvered past van Rouwendaal in the chute leading to the feed station and held the #1 position going downstream on lap 4. The field separated again going with the current, as Johnson, van Rouwendaal, Taddeucci, Gubecka, and Cunha comprised the lead pack, followed by Gabbrielleschi, Fabian, Brazil’s Viviane Jungblut, and Ebina.