David Betlehem, Klaudia Tarasiewicz Win European Open Water Cup Race in Barcelona
David Betlehem of Hungary and Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz won on Saturday on the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup stop in Barcelona.
The race in Port Vell is the fourth stop on the five-city tour. The series finishes next week in Razanac, Croatia.
Betlehem secured his first career win on the circuit. Less than four seconds separated the top five on the fourth and final 2.5-kilometer lap, Betlehem getting to the line first in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 9.88 seconds. He was 1.5 seconds up on Marcello Guidi, the first of five straight Italians to finish.
Third was Andrea Filadelli, two tenths behind Guidi, followed by Dario Verano, Fabio Dalu and Pasquale Giordano. Poland’s Bartosz Kapala was seventh, with American Dylan Gravley of the U.S. eighth. Among the big names, Marc-Antoine Olivier did not finish.
Dalu entered the meet second in the overall standings. He gained valuable ground on France’s Sacha Velly, who finished 14th, nearly 42 seconds off the pace. Velly had won the last stop in Portugal. Filadelli entered third in the season standings. Logan Vanhuys, who was fourth on the season, finished 10th at Port Vell.
On the women’s side, Tarasiewicz picked up her second career win, touching in 2:02:39.40. She pulled away on the final lap to be nearly five seconds up on Monaco’s Lisa Pou, who will enter the series finale in the overall points lead.
France’s Caroline Jouisse was 1.6 seconds back in bronze. She edged Spain’s Candela Sanchez Lora by .06 seconds, denying her a home-country podium. Elena Tortora was the first of three straight Italians in fifth. Pou’s 2,050 points entered the weekend 750 up on Giulia Berton, who finished seventh, making the Monaco swimmer the big favorite heading into the final race.
