Marathon swimming begins with China's Wu winning gold at Asiad

HANGZHOU - The marathon swimming event of the Hangzhou Asian Games commenced on Friday, with Chinese swimmer Wu Shutong winning the women's 10-kilometer gold medal.

The event, also known as open water swimming, was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Beijing 2008. It has been contested for the first time at Asiad. A total of 13 athletes from eight countries and regions participated in the event.

Wu, 18, successfully surpassed Japan's Airi Ebina in the final lap, clinching the gold medal with a time of two hours, three minutes and 36.4 seconds.

Airi Ebina secured the silver medal, while Sun Jiake of China earned the bronze.

"I never expected to achieve such results before the competition. I didn't have any special tactics and just gave my utmost effort," said Wu.

The men's 10-kilometer final will take place on Saturday.