D7 Budapest 2021 – FLASH QUOTES
Diving Women’s 3m synchro
GOLD Lena Hentschel, Tina Punzel (GER) 307.29 – Tina Punzel: “It was really close at the end, but I think I won 5 silver medals in this event at the previous European Championships, so I kind of deserved the gold medal this time. We are really happy, we work really hard together. Lena moved to Dresden in order to train together and all the hard work we did together finally paid off.”
Lena Hentschel: “It is unbelievable, it was a really nice competition for me and to compete with Tina is always a pleasure for me, I am really happy to have her by my side. It was a great competition with incredible results, so we are really happy.”
SILVER Elena Bertocchi, Chiara Pellacani (ITA) 307.20 – Elena Bertocchi: “After yesterday I finally got a good night’s sleep, I slept like 10-12 hours and was feeling much better today. I managed to regain my strength, recover and finally have fun diving like Chiara usually does (smiles). I am very satisfied. This really is a silver that shines like a gold. The score is amazing. I think that it was the second dive that cost us the gold medal. It should have been more synchronised.”
Chiara Pellacani: “The competition went almost like yesterday. We really are a great duo. Elena was fantastic today. I also think our second dive was not best synchronised and that decided at the end. I don’t feel like the leader after five medals. What the Championships have taught me is what it takes to win medals at senior championships and what my level is compared to a year ago. Also, I should not to be discouraged after a weaker dive and not give in to that feeling. All in all, I can say I learned a lot!”
BRONZE Uliana Kliueva, Vitaliia Koroleva (RUS) 291.00 – Vitaliia Koroleva: “We are very happy. I think our third dive was the best. It was good to be at a big international championships after the pandemic but also hard at the same time with all the restrictions, the masks and everything. In two weeks we have the National Championships in Russia and only the best two will go to Tokyo. We will try to give our best.”
Open Water Swimming Men’s 25km
GOLD Axel Reymond (FRA) 4:35:59.8 – “It was a really good race. I tried to increase my lead a bunch of times. That was difficult since we are all swimming at the same speed, more or less, because of the wetsuits. So I decided just to stay ahead and do my own thing at my own pace. I felt really good leading. Once we went by the last fuelling station, I started to accelerate. I saw nobody was trying really hard to keep up with me, so I thought, ‘Ok, I can win this.’ Of course, there was a lot of pressure [as the reigning two-time World champion]. I tried not to think about it too much and to stay serene. I just wanted to win the European title again. I know the Italians were fighting for it. They wanted to win this race because they have won every other one here. So I am very happy to have shown that I am still here.”
SILVER Matteo Furlan (ITA) 4:36:05.1 – “I’m really happy to make the podium after such a tough race. I had a very tough duel with the Russian guy, that burnt a lot of energy and made it impossible to think of catching Axel. However, I’m extremely proud as I was the oldest man in the leading pack and I could still win a medal and that’s so great.”
BRONZE Kirill Abrosimov (RUS) 4:36:06.2 – “I was waiting for these Championships so long, fortunately, it took place. That’s why I competed in all disciplines. I’m so happy that I can finally smile in the mixed zone and enjoy the moment of winning a medal. It’s the first time I ever did 25 km and won a bronze right away, it’s incredible! At the same time, I was well prepared both physically and psychologically, I wasn’t nervous before the start. It was a great experience, now I understand how to plan strategically such a long distance in future. Today the tactics were to save energy for the last kilometres, then I pushed myself forward right before the finish.”
Open Water Swimming Women’s 25km
GOLD Lea Boyd (GER) 4:53:57.0 – “It was a very tough race. This was my second 25km, I didn’t have any plan I just wanted to swim the race, not really expecting anything, just trying to push the last one and a half laps. To be honest, I was the most surprised when I saw that no one could come with me.”
SILVER Lara Grangeon (FRA) 4:54:58.4 – “I am so happy, mostly because of my mindset. I wanted to give up multiple times during this race. It was one of the hardest races of my career. I also got hit and had yet another side stitch. But then I told myself, ‘Lara, you’re representing France. If this happens at the Olympics, you can’t give up.’ I had to use this as experience and to give it my all until the end. I am very happy about my performance, and how far I could push myself mentally.”
BRONZE Barbara Pozzobon (ITA) 4:54:58.7 – “This medal is a prize for so many years of hard work. This is the first international medal and the most important one I’ve ever won. The race was very hard – yesterday I had so much pain but today I was feeling well. It was not possible to catch up with the German girl so I had to battle with the French, she was faster than me at the finish line but I’m still very happy with this bronze.”