Jack Burnell claims Abu Dhabi glory in 10km Swimming World Cup

Denzil Pinto 07:30 12/03/2017
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  • Champion: Jack Burnell

    Jack Burnell says his FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup triumph in Abu Dhabi proves that he made the right decision not to turn his back on the sport following his heartbreaking Olympic disqualification.

    Seven months ago at the Rio Games, the 23-year-old was given third and then fifth place at the finish line of the 10km race before being disqualified after receiving a second yellow card following a tussle with a rival swimmer.

    The incident left him furious with the Briton describing the refereeing as “a joke” and was seriously considering his future in the sport.

    But having decided not to quit after taking three months to reflect, he showed his potential by finishing the course in 1:45:54.6 in a frantic finish at the Emirates Palace Saturday.

    “It was no consolation, it was just a new start,” said Burnell, of whether the victory would be a consolation for the Olympic disqualification in Brazil.

    “I nearly left the sport because of the outrageous decisions that were made in Rio. But I just thought to myself that I have to prove to myself that I am the best in the world and the only thing I can do that is by winning as many races as I possibly can.

    “The Olympic disqualification did motivate me of course. At first it made me think that I did not want to be part of the sport at all. I questioned the sport and the organisation of it. But I thought that would mean making them win and that is not what I wanted to happen. I wanted to come back as a stronger athlete.”

    In a strong 72-man field, it was an intriguing race that saw the lead change on numerous occasions.

    Burnell’s compatriot Tobias Robinson was leading the duel in the first lap, before being overtaken by  Hungary’s bronze European 5km medallist Daniel Szeckelyi in the second lap.

    Burnell was still in the mix for a medal, in third place behind Marc-Antoine Olivier and two-time European champion Axel Reymond on lap three.

    Although Olivier overtook his compatriot for the final two laps, Burnell found enough stamina to hold off his rivals for his first victory of the competition.

    His win meant that Rio Olympic gold medallist Ferry Weertman of Netherlands had to settle for silver after finishing 0.3 seconds adrift with Frenchman David Aubry in third.

    Understandably, Burnell was thrilled with his gold but with still five more races in the competition as well as the World Championships in July, he’s eager to answer his critics.

    “Now I’m back and I’m going to be back with a bang,” he said, who finished fifth in the 2015 World Championships. “There are still more races to go and I want to prove that I was the best in Rio. Results didn’t go my way but I’m not going to allow that to happen again.”

    For Weertman, the result was a vast improvement where he finished eighth last year in the UAE capital. The 24-year-old was back in the waters for the first time since Rio Olympics and the Dutchman was pleased with his first competitive appearance of the season.

    “I’m really happy about the result because it shows that I’m this good early on in the season.”

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