Long-Distance Swimmer Dedicates Olympic Gold to Dog Who Passed Away in May
If the fictional John Wick can return to her assassin life to avenge his Beagle puppy, a long-distance swimmer by the name of Sharon van Rouwendaal can emerge a winner in memory of her Pomeranian. That's probably not the best analogy, but that's how far dog owners can go in the name of their canine companions.
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Women's 10-kilometer Open Water Swim at Paris Olympics 2024
Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands secured her second Olympic gold in the Women's 10-kilometer open water swim at the Paris Olympics 2024. She bagged her first one at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, which is also the namesake of her Pomeranian, Rio, who passed away in May.
Sharon van Rouwendaal and Rio at the Tokyo Olympics 2020
The marathon swim, held in the iconic Seine River, began at 7:30 a.m. on August 8 (Paris time), with competitors diving off a pontoon near the Alexandre III bridge. The course, a 1.67-kilometer loop between the Alexandre III and Pont de l'Alma bridges, demanded six grueling laps from the 24 swimmers.
While Australia’s Moesha Johnson took the lead in the first lap, then again from laps three to five, Van Rouwendaal got all fired up when it mattered: the final upstream leg where she expertly navigated around a pylon at the Pont des Invalides and swam with a burst of speed. She crossed the finish line of the 10-kilometer race after more than two hours (2:03:34.2), just 5.5 seconds ahead of Johnson. Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci secured bronze with a time of 2:03:42.8.
Paris Olympics 2024 is Van Rouwendaal's fourth time at the Olympics. Aside from her two gold medals (Rio and Paris), she also has a silver from Tokyo 2020.
According to reports, the Dutch swimmer did not care about swimming for three weeks when her dog passed away in May, even though it was already leading up to the Olympics. But we totally understand. Several studies show that losing a pet dog or cat can be just as traumatic as losing a human family member.
"My world stopped," she was quoted by the international press. "But then my dad said, 'Just see it like you have been away from him for seven years through competitions—just do one more race and give it everything and swim for him.' So I had a tattoo three days after the cremation, and I said, ‘Let’s try it, and I will swim for him with my whole heart’—and I did it—I won for him."
