Tunisia’s Mellouli triumphs in 10km Marathon

Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli won the men’s 10km Marathon gold in the open water of the Serpentine today. Mellouli, who took bronze in the 1500m Freestyle in the pool last week, was followed home by the German Thomas Lurz who took silver. The bronze medallist was Richard Weinberger of Canada. When he won gold in the 1500m Freestyle in Beijing, Mellouli became the first African male to win an individual Olympic Swimming title and victory today saw him become the first swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the pool and open water at the same Games. Although open water was only introduced four years ago, Mellouli, who beat his chest on finishing, has now set a precedent. Mellouli said: ‘I can’t explain it, I can’t really describe it. ‘I don’t think this has ever been done before. This is probably one of the toughest things to do. ‘I’m a pretty solid guy and I never react but you saw that reaction, that says it all.’ Eva Risztov today claimed gold in the women’s 10km Marathon open water swim in Hyde Park. The Hungarian produced a strong performance to take the title, holding off the USA’s Haley Anderson, who finished second to claim silver. Italy’s Martina Grimaldi took bronze. Great Britain’s Keri-anne Payne just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth. Still only 26, Risztov competed in a full spectrum of events in London from the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay through the 400m and 800m Freestyle as well as today’s Marathon swim. The nature of her victory was impressive, going out at the head of the field and never falling below third. She said: ‘It was a really tough race but I was prepared for the race and I’m very happy with the result. ‘It is really hard to take in but in a few hours I will be much more happy because I’m really, really tired now.’