Italian, Dutch win open water gold at European swimming championship

Appoline Dreyfuss and Chloe Willhelm of France perform in the women's synchronized swimming duet free routine preliminaries at the European Swimming Championships in Budapest August 5, 2010.


BUDAPEST, Aug. 5 -- On day two of the European swimming championships in Hungary on Thursday, Luca Ferretti of Italy and Linsy Heister of the Netherlands won the men's 5km and women's 10km open water events.

The races took place at Balatonfured on Lake Balaton, 120km south-west of Budapest.

Italy won all three medals in the men's race. Ferretti won gold with a time of 58 minutes 43.4 seconds, beating compatriots Simone Ercoli and Simone Ruffini into the silver and bronze positions.

Ruffini tied with Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece for third place. Title holder Thomas Lurz of Germany, who won the 10km race on Wednesday, was fifth.

Heister won the women's 10km event in 2 hours 1 minute, 6.7 seconds, less than a second ahead of Georgia Consiglio of Italy. Germany's Angela Maurer took bronze.

The first week of the competition features synchronized swimming in Budapest and open water distance swimming in Balatonfured while the pool events begin in Budapest next Monday.

Linsy Heister of the Netherlands sucks a power drink as she swims to win a gold medal in the women's 10km open water race at the European Swimming Championships in the Lake Balaton in Balatonfured August 5, 2010.

Anastasia Gloushkov and Inna Yoffe of Israel perform in the women's synchronized swimming duet free routine preliminaries at the European Swimming Championships in Budapest August 5, 2010.

Nadine Brandl and Lang Livia of Austria perform in the women's synchronized swimming duet free routine preliminaries at the European Swimming Championships in Budapest August 5, 2010.

Nadine Brandl and Lang Livia of Austria perform in the women's synchronized swimming duet free routine preliminaries at the European Swimming Championships in Budapest August 5, 2010.

Italy's Giorgia Consiglio reacts after winning the silver medal in the women's 10km open water race at the European Swimming Championships in Lake Balaton in Balatonfured August 5, 2010. Dutch swimmer Linsy Heister won the gold medal while Germany's Angela Maurer won the bronze.
(Reuters)