Moesha Johnson has won another Olympic medal for Australia: she took silver in the grueling 10 km marathon swim on Thursday.
Johnosn, who made her Olympic debut at age 26, led the race for much of the event, which consisted of an epic battle against the currents of the Seine over six laps.
Dutchwoman Sharon van Rouwendaal, who won the event in 2016 and finished second in Tokyo, overtook Johnson in the closing stages to take gold.
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In a thrilling finish, Johnson took silver ahead of Italian Ginevra Taddeucci.
“It’s just so special,” she said.
“I always dreamed of standing on the winner’s podium and I have never won an individual medal at a World Championship. I can’t ask for more than to go home with a nice silver medal in my pocket.”
It was the crowning conclusion to a breathtaking Olympics for Johnson, who finished sixth in the 1500m final behind American superstar Katie Ledecky.
Johnson got off to a brilliant start and led the field after one lap.
The Australian remained in the leading group while van Rouwendaal set the pace in the second lap.
Johnson went back to the lead at halftime and was eventually able to pull away together with van Rouwendaal and Taddeucci.
The trio was able to quickly pull away from the chasing pack, making for an exciting final lap.
Van Rouwendaal had perfect timing in her run, overtaking Johnson about 200 m from the finish and taking the gold medal with a time of 2:03:34.2 seconds.
Johnson finished five seconds behind with a time of 2:03.39.7, while Taddeucci took the bronze medal with a time of 2:03.42.8.
“It was tough and very, very tactical. I set off a little earlier than I expected or wanted, but we could see the live feed on the TV screens as we swam and I could see the three of us were pulling the group far apart behind us and I picked the right moment to just try and break away,” Johnson said.
“Sharon and I are best friends. Our dream was that one of us would come first and one of us would come second – and it was just a matter of who would get one and two.
“You both gave it your all and I honestly don’t care about the colour. I fought until the end and gave it my all and that’s why this is like a gold medal for me.”
“And to see Sharon win, I couldn’t be happier for her, it’s just really special. She is the GOAT of our sport.”
Australian Chelsea Gubecka, who was in the leading group at halftime, fell back and finished in 14th place.
– With AAP
