Sharon van Rouwendaal could not contain her joy after she claimed her first open water world title in Budapest in 2022.
The Netherlands swimmer won Olympic 10km gold at Rio 2016 as well as seven European titles across 5km, 10km and the team event between 2014 and 2020.
However, world gold eluded her although she had come tantalisingly close with three silver medals.
That changed on 29 June 2022 when she finally claimed that gold with victory in Lake Lupa following a spectacular final sprint.
Van Rouwendaal said: “There’s a lot of emotion in the mix. You always have to keep turning the dial up. I was able to flick the switch very well. I wanted to swim smartly: wait, wait and then give everything in the sprint.”
Van Rouwendaal has also enjoyed world and European success in the pool in freestyle and backstroke and her time of 2:07.78 to win world silver in 2011 still stands as a Dutch record.
The Dutchwoman is guided by German national coach Bernd Berkhahn in Magdeburg alongside Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock and Ukrainian Mykhailo Romanchuk, who moved training base following the invasion by Russia.
It ended a seven-year association with Philippe Lucas in Montpellier, France, during which time she won eight European and five world medals and Rio gold.
She paid tribute to Lucas, saying: “Philippe, thank you for all the times you made me cry, smile and laugh. You gave me confidence by believing in me. You saw something that other people didn’t.
“Made by Philippe Lucas.”