Larisa Ilchenko proclaims to defend her 10km Marathon Olympic title at 2012 London Olympic Games
Russian Open Water veteran and Beijing Olympic gold medallist, Larisa Ilchenko proclaimed her desire of defending her 10km Marathon Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The news of Ilchenko’s retirement spread like fire in the swimming world in March 2011, but the Russian never filed an official retirement with the international aquatics sport governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA).
22-year-old Ilchenko is the most splendid Russian Open Water athlete. During her international swimming career, she has earned one Olympic gold medal and eight World titles. She pocketed her first world title in 5km discipline at the 2004 Open Water World
Championship and defended her title with great audacity at the 2005 World Championships.
Later, she not only defended her 5km title but also captured the gold medal of 10km discipline at the 2006 Napoli World Championships. Her dominance in the Open Water discipline continued for the next two years, as she protected her 5km and 10km titles at
the 2007 and 2008 World Championships respectively. In 2009 World titles, she did not compete in 10km swim while lost her 5km title from Australian swimmer, Melissa Gorman.
Nevertheless, the Russian implied her desire by informing a local news agency that she never said she would stop preparing for the Olympic Games. SwimNews confirmed the news of her comeback from FINA, which told, "She never officially announced her retirement
to FINA."
Ilchenko has been undergoing a thyroid gland problem and expressed that “For two months I have been taking hormone medicines. There is one more month to go. Then I'll take the test and wait for the verdict of the doctors.”
Despite of Russian’s illness, the news of her retirement will be very shocking for her strongest competitors including the likes of Keri Anne Payne and Melissa Gorman, who are one of the most dominant swimmers of Open Water world.
Nonetheless, she would have to prove her qualification for the Olympics by posting a time under the FINA time qualification standards next year.
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