Women's marathon swim ends in one of the most intense finishes you'll see in the Olympics
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It's easy to imagine a 10-kilometer swim putting enough distance between swimmers that there couldn't possibly be a close finish.
On Monday, however the women's 10K marathon swim came down to a photo finish, as after Dutch swimmer Sharon van Rouwendaal easily took gold, France's Aurelie Muller and Italy's Rachele Bruni entered the final leg in a tight race for silver.
After nearly two hours, the two swimmers were in a dead tie with the finish line in sight, thus inciting a desperate sprint for second place.
What resulted was one of the wildest, most intense finishes we've seen these games.
Nearing the finish line, Van Rouwendaal had a sizable lead, but Muller and Bruni were tied.
(NBC)
At this point, Muller and Bruni began swimming hard, as evidenced by their big wake and splashes.
(NBC)
They began drifting toward the left side of the finish line because it was angled closer to them.
(NBC)
That's when chaos unfolded. As the two swimmers got within feet of the finish line (swimmers must touch the white banner overheard), they began jostling for position, both unable to actually reach the banner.
Finally, they reached it in a photo finish, with the two swimmers seemingly touching at the same time.
(NBC)
After reviewing the finish, officials disqualified Muller for leaping over Bruni by actually holding her down. By going over the top of her, she prevented Muller from touching.
Insanity!
(NBC)
Wildly enough, this isn't all that uncommon. As The Telegraph's Daniel Schofield wrote: "Muller's crime was to make it so obvious, right by the finishing board which is pretty much the only place such skulduggery can be detected. The rest of the time, it is open season for kicking, elbowing, and even the odd spot of gouging."
Schofield said British swimmer Keri-Anne Payne actually took judo lessons in anticipation of the grappling for position that would take place during the race.
Muller's disqualification also had a beneficial outcome for Brazil's Poliana Okimoto, who was next in line for bronze.
It was a wild, desperate finish that could seemingly unfold only under the intense pressure of the Olympics.
Here is the full video:
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