Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands poses with his gold medal.[Photo/Agencies]

Ferry Weertman: Still can't believe the win

Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands won an enthralling battle to take the men's 10km open water event off Copacabana beach on August 15, prevailing by the narrowest of margins to complete a double Dutch triumph following teammate Sharon Van Rouwendaal's victory in the women's race 24 hours earlier.

The pair were so close that they were given the same finishing time of one hour 52 minutes 59.8 seconds but the 24-year-old European champion Weertman, who won silver at last year's world championships, just did enough to earn the gold ahead of the former double world champion, the 36-year-old Gianniotis.

"Even after I touched the wall, I wasn't sure I'd won. It took me a while. I called my friends back home and they said 'You won, you won!' and I'm like, 'Oh really?' I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it," he said.