‘My whole world stopped’ – Olympic champion dedicates victory to her dead dog after winning gold medal

Thursday, August 8, 2024 - Olympic gold medalist, Sharon van Rouwendaal paid tribute to her late dog Rio after winning the women’s marathon swimming in Paris on Thursday, August 8.

The Dutch athlete claimed the first gold medal on day 13 of the games after a successful swim in the River Seine.

The gold medal went to Van Rouwendaal, ahead of Australia’s Moesha Johnson and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci.

The 30-year-old revealed post-race that her dog Rio, named after Rio de Janeiro where she also won gold in 2016, had passed shortly before the Paris games.

‘In May, my little dog died,’ she told reporters.

‘He needed an operation on his lungs so I gave it to him in the hope that we could live after the Olympics together in my house and with my garden. And he had complications after the surgery and he died.

‘Then my world stopped and I didn’t care about swimming for like three weeks. He was my little baby.

‘But my dad said that you’ve been away from him for like seven years because of competitions. Do one more race and give it everything and swim for him.

‘I got a tattoo [of his paw on her wrist] and thought “let’s try it”. I swam for him with my whole heart. I won it for him.’

Van Rouwendaal’s win was the Netherlands’ 10th gold at the Paris Olympics and with it, they moved to ninth in the medal table, with Team GB only just ahead in fifth on 12 golds at the time of writing.