Russian wins first Olympic marathon swim

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Larisa Ilchenko of Russia won the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in the sport of long-distance swimming Wednesday.

She covered 10 kilometers of open water, a course laid out at the rowing and canoe/kayak venue, in one hour, 59 minutes, 27.7 seconds. She finished a mere second and a half in front of Britain's Keri-Anne Payne. Cassandra Patten of Britain took the bronze medal, crossing the line less than two seconds behind Payne.

The race also featured Natalie du Toit of South Africa, who lost part of her left leg in an accident at the age of 17. Du Toit, now 24, plans to become the first athlete to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics.

She finished 16th in a field of 25.