Kajimoto wins 3-km open water for 1st Japan gold at worlds
swimming
Ichika Kajimoto won Japan's first gold medal at the aquatics world championships in Singapore on Saturday after finishing top in a new women's open water discipline, the 3-kilometer knockout sprint.
The 21-year-old had already become the first Japanese medalist at the ongoing worlds by winning bronze in the women's 5-km open water event on Friday.
"Winning a medal at the world championships wasn't something realistic, and I still can't believe I got the bronze medal yesterday and the win today," Kajimoto said. "I'm really happy."
The 3-km knockout sprint features a 1500-meter heat, a 1000-meter semifinal, and a 500-meter final with a set number of swimmers eliminated after each round.
Kajimoto was second both in her heat 1 and the semifinal to make the 10-women final and prevailed in 6 minutes, 19.90 seconds.
Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy claimed silver, 2 seconds behind Kajimoto, while Australia's Moesha Johnson and Hungary's Bettina Fabian shared bronze after they crossed a further 1.20 seconds back.
© KYODO
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