The Seine River promises to be one of the main protagonists of the next Olympic Games and there will be 44 privileged people who will be able to swim it (something that was banned a century ago) in open water competition: three women and three men are already assured of their presence in the historic event that Paris 2024 will have.
In Fukuoka, Japan, the World Swimming Championships will take place from 14 to 30 July and the artificial beach of Momochi Seaside Park was the 10 kilometers of open water, which gave the first three the ticket to Paris.
Among women, Leonie Beck became world champion when she won with a time of 2:02:34.00 and will thus participate for the third time in the Olympic Games after being in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. The German finished second in the 2022 World Cup in Budapest.
Behind Beck came the Australian Chelsea Gubecka (2:02:38.10) and the podium was completed by the American Katie Grimes (2:02:42.30), only 17 years old, who last year in Budapest won a silver medal but in pool (1500 and 400 free).
Among the men, Florian Wellbrock, who won the gold medal in Tokyo 2020 in the 10 km of open water and the bronze medal in the 1500 freestyle, became world champion in Fukuoka with a time of 1:50:40.30.
The Hungarian Kristof Rasovszky (1:50:59.00) had accompanied Wellbrock in the last Olympic Games and now he did so again in Fukuoka, while the last ticket to Paris went to the also German Oliver Klemet (1:51:00.80).
Double for Leonie Beck and Florian Wellbrock at Fukuoka 2023
The World Swimming Championship also defined the world champions in the 5-kilometer race (this is not a distance that is contested in the Olympic Games) and the Germans Leonie Beck and Florian Wellbrock were re-enshrined.
Beck won the race with a time of 59.31.70 and left behind the Dutch Sharon Van der Rowendaal (59.32.70) and the Brazilian Ana Marcela Cunha (59.33.90), who was Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020.
Wellbrock, for his part, won his second gold medal in Fukuoka when he won with a record of 53.58.00 and was accompanied on the podium by the Italians Gregorio Paltrinieri (54.02.50) and Domenico Acerenza (54.04.20).
How are the other open water places defined for Paris 2024
The World Cup in Doha, Qatar, which will be held from February 2 to 18 next year, will be the other opportunity open water swimmers will have to get a place in the Paris Olympic Games.
The top 13 will have their place although, unlike Fukuoka, it will be for the National Olympic Committee and not for the athlete. France has its place guaranteed because it is the organizer and the remaining quotas will be distributed one for each continent.
The open water test has been on the Olympic program since Beijing 2008 and in Paris the number of competitors by gender will be reduced from 25 to 22 compared to Tokyo. On the Seine River, under the Alexandre III bridge, on August 8, the women’s 10 km Olympic Games will begin and a day later it will be the men’s turn.
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