Sharon van Rouwendaal romps to open water win at Copacabana (Yahoo Sports)

In the sewage-filled waters off one of the world’s most famous beaches, Sharon van Rouwendaal claimed gold for the Netherlands in the Olympic women’s open water race Monday at Copacabana. Van Rouwendaal began to pull away on the third of four laps, and it wasn’t even close by the end of the 10-kilometer race. The winning margin was a staggering 17.4 seconds, far more than the 0.4 difference four years ago and the 1.4 spread at the inaugural open water competition in 2008.