Paris Olympics 2024: Australia’s Moesha Johnson takes silver in marathon swim through the polluted River Seine

Australian Moesha Johnson has swum through the polluted waters of the Seine to win a silver medal in the Olympic 10km marathon swimming event.

The 26-year-old swimmer from Tweed Heads (NSW) was eventually overtaken in a thrilling three-woman open water race by top Dutch swimmer Sharon van Rouwendaal, who regained the title she won in Rio eight years ago.

For the German-based Johnson, who also finished sixth in the 1500m final in the pool, the silver was nice compensation for the fact that he just missed out on a medal at the world championships in Doha earlier this year.

Johnson led the way on a warm morning with a dedicated performance, but she could never shake the attention of training partner van Rouwendaal. She is considered the ‘GOAT’ of women’s open water swimming after so many major titles.

In the penultimate round the battle was decided by three swimmers – Johnson, world champion from Rouwendaal and the Italian Ginevra Taddeucci – who broke away from the rest of the 24-man field.

But just before the final sprint to the finish line that leads under the gilded Pont Alexandre III bridge, the 30-year-old from Rouwendaal began to pull away from the Australian in the final 300 metres and opened up a five-second lead as she crossed the line in two hours, three minutes and 34.2 seconds.

Johnson finished in 2:03.39.7, while Taddeucci took bronze in 2:03.42.8. Another Australian swimmer Chelsea Gubecka also struggled, as she finished 14th in 2:06.17.8.

The two-hour marathon on the Seine had already started at 7:30 on Thursday morning, when swimming was already permitted. Large crowds gathered on both banks to witness this magnificent spectacle.