Olympic gold medalist Sharon van Rouwendaal paid tribute to her late dog Rio, who passed away in May after winning the women’s 10 km marathon swimming in Paris.
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30-year-old Sharon Van Rouwendaal won the race with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 34.2 seconds. Australian Moesha Johnson took the silver medal, finishing 5.5 seconds behind, while Italy's Ginevra Taddeucci secured the bronze. The race was held on the River Seine, with the Eiffel Tower in the background, after water pollution levels were deemed safe for the competition.
In her celebration of the Olympic gold medal, Sharon paid tribute to her dog, Rio, by pointing to the tattoo of her beloved Rio paw on her right hand.
“He was my everything, like swimming is everything. But for me, the most important thing is my family and my, well, dogs! It's just my little baby.
She revealed in her post-race that her dog, Rio, named after Rio de Janeiro, where she also won gold in 2016, had passed shortly before the Paris games.
‘In May, my little dog died.’ ‘ He needed an operation on his lungs, so I gave it to him in hope that we could live after the Olympics together in my house and with my garden. And he had complications after the surgery, and he died. ‘Then my world stopped and I didn’t care about swimming for like three weeks. He was my little baby. ‘But my dad said that you’ve been away from him for like seven years because of competitions. Do one more race and give it everything and swim for him. ‘I got a tattoo [of his paw on her wrist] and thought “let’s try it”. I swam for him with my whole heart. I won it for him.’
Van Rouwendaal’s victory marked the Netherlands’ 10th gold in Paris, propelling them to ninth place in the medal table.
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