Swimmer finishes sixth in Olympic marathon
Swiss swimmer Swann Oberson has taken sixth place in the premiere of the ten-kilometre marathon swimming event at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The 22-year-old Geneva woman remained in the middle of a field of 25 during the first three laps of the 2.5-kilometre course before overtaking seven of her competitors in the final 600 metres.
Oberson finished nine seconds behind the winner, Larissa Iltschenko, the current world champion.
The 19-year-old Russian won the race with a time of 1 hour 59 minutes and 27.7 seconds, followed by Britons Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten.
Oberson was five seconds behind the bronze medal position.
The marathon is the only swimming event to be held in open water. Switzerland does not have an entry in the men's race.
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