Hungarian swimmer takes 1st gold medal of competition

Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary won the men’s 5km open water swimming title for the first gold medal of the 18th FINA World Championships on Saturday.

Rasovszky claimed his first career world title in a time of 53:22.10 at Yeosu EXPO Ocean Park in Yeosu, a city about 100 kilometers to the south of the main host city Gwangju.

Logan Fontaine of France got the silver in 53:33.20, and Eric Hedlin of Canada was the bronze medalist at 53:32.40.

Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary celebrates his gold medal in the men's 5km open water swimming at the 18th FINA World Championships at Yeosu EXPO Ocean Park in Yeosu, 455 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 13, 2019. (Yonhap)

This was the first medal event of these championships, whose opening ceremony took place Friday evening in Gwangju. The competition will wrap up on July 28.

South Korean Baek Seung-ho, in his world championships debut, finished in 48th among 61 swimmers at 57:05.30. Fellow South Korean Cho Jae-hoo came in 52nd at 59:07.80. (Yonhap)