Medal won on opening day
Competing in an open-water event for the first time in his career, Greek swimmer Spyros Gianniotis won a bronze medal in the men’s 5-kilometer race at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne yesterday. Thomas Lurz of Germany, the event’s favorite, overcame chilly and choppy seas at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne to clinch the gold medal for a third consecutive time. Lurz won his world title in 56:49.9, barely one second ahead of the silver medalist, Russia’s Evgeny Drattsev. Gianniotis, 27, who clocked a time of 56:56.6, spearheaded the pack for the race’s greater part, and, at one point, led by as much as 25 meters but was overtaken by Lurz and Drattsev late in the contest. «It’s great. It’s the third time in a row. It’s such a big thing,» said the 27-year-old Lurz, who also competes in the pool in the 1,500 meters. «Every time it gets a little harder because you put yourself under much more pressure.» Gianniotis earned Greece its third medal at the Worlds, an annual event. The national team had won two medals in Montreal two years ago. Aris Grigoriadis, 19 at the time, won gold in the men’s 50-meter backstroke, and the men’s water polo team won the bronze. In the women’s 5-kilometer race, Russia’s Larisa Ilchenko claimed the women’s crown in 1:41.3, taking the lead at the last turn to fight off compatriot Ekaterina Seliverstova, who took silver just 2.3 seconds behind with Australia’s Kate Brookes-Peterson third. The 5km races produced the first medals of the championships, which officially opened Saturday evening. (Kathimerini/AFP)
