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Cape Town - In a controversial women's 10, 000 metre race, Dutch swimmer Sharon van Rouwendaal cruised to gold while South Africa's Michelle Weber was well off the pace as she finished way back in 18th place.
Van Rouwendaal was quite magnificent as she stormed clear of the field to win the endurance contest by a staggering 19 second margin. She completed the race in 1:56:32.
France's Aurélie Muller was thought to have claimed silver however judges took the decision to disqualify her after it was ruled that she obstructed Rachele Bruni in the final sprint.
Consequently, Bruni finished second and Brazil's Poliana Okimoto was bumped up into the bronze medal position.
If the result holds, it will be Brazil’s first medal in swimming at these Olympics after the host nation went zero-for-everything in the pool.
South Africa's Weber was never really in contention for a medal. Her finishing time of 1:59:05 was only good enough for 18th position. There were 26 competitors who started the race.
