Swimming: Lea Boy wins gold over 25 kilometers

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EM in Budapest: Lea Boy is the right of the two German swimmers above in the picture at the relay race on Saturday

Photo: Tibor Illyes / EPA

Lea Boy is European swimming champion over 25 kilometers.

The team world champion of 2019 achieved her greatest international individual success in Hungary and the first German European title in this discipline since Angela Maurer's victory in 2006.

The 21-year-old won in Budapest after 4:53:57 hours ahead of Lara Grangeon from France and Barbara Pozzobon from Italy.

This was the best way to defy the adverse conditions in the 17.5 degree cold Lupa Lake.

"It was a bit cold in between, but luckily the sun came out," said Boy: "I'm really happy about my first European championship title."

For the German open water swimmers, Boy's success brought the third medal in the title fights.

The last time there was gold was at the EM in 2014 in Berlin.

Boy started an attack about four kilometers from the finish, after which she could no longer be caught.

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Lea Boy from Würzburg

Photo: Heiko Becker / HMB-Media / imago images

In the men's race, Niklas Frach was 13th from a German point of view, gold went to Axel Raymond from France, followed by Italian Matteo Furlan and Kirill Abrosimow from Russia.

Andreas Waschburger was not at the start because the Saarbrücken native was not allowed to board the plane to Budapest due to a positive corona test.

The German open water swimmers leave the Hungarian metropolis with three medals.

Previously, double world champion Florian Wellbrock had also won silver in the 10-kilometer race and the DSV team with Wellbrock, Rob Muffels, Boy and Leonie Beck won bronze.

jan / dpa / sid