Ilchenko wins first gold medal of world championships

Russia's Larisa Ilchenko claimed the first gold medal at the world championships yesterday, powering her way to victory in the women's 5km open water event.

Ilchenko clocked a winning time of 55 minutes, 40.1 seconds to edge Margy Keefe of the United States by 4.2 seconds as the two-week championships began under dark rainy skies. Edith Van Dijk of the Netherlands took the bronze, crossing 6.5 seconds behind the winner.

The race was staged in front of a sparse crowd along the rowing basin constructed for the 1976 Olympics.

Germany's Thomas Lurz won the men's event ahead of Chip Peterson, of the US, and Italy's Simone Ercoli.

¤ Rome has been chosen to host the 2009 world swimming championships, the sport's governing body FINA said. Italy's capital city fought off competition from Athens, Moscow and Yokohama, Japan for the right to stage the 13th edition of the event. "The difficulty of our choice proves that these four bidders were excellent," FINA president Mustapha Larfaoui told a news conference in Montreal. After the 11th edition in Montreal, which started yesterday and finishes at the end of July, the championships will be held in Melbourne in 2007.