In a post-race interview after winning the men’s 25k on Saturday at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Italian Simone Ruffini says that he was worried early on because he was having stomach pain.
In the second half of the race, however, he was feeling better and began to lead a pack away from the peloton, and that he felt more “power” in the later stages of the race.
It appears as though both of the front-runners, Ruffini and Meyer, were suffering from similar ailments early in the race, but the two powered through to a 1-2 finish.
From Jeff Grace:
Simone Ruffini, who finished seventh at the 2013 World Championships, took the event in a time of 4:53:10.7.
American Alex Meyer had a small lead over both Ruffini and Italian Matteo Furlan with one lap to go. In the end Ruffini had more than Meyer in the final lap beating the American by almost five seconds.
Meyer had a strong last lap considering he was suffering from gastrointestinal issue during the race. He finished in a time of 4:53:15.1.
Furlan, who won a bronze in the 5 km, earned the same colour of medal in the 25 km finishing in a time of 4:54:38.0.
Full results can be found here.