Sutton was in third place after the first of four laps in the rowing basin, but faded toward the back of the pack on the second lap. "I was in great position after the first lap but I never felt right," she said. "Never felt that comfort zone, that place, that little bubble I could hold. I never found that spot.”
Russia’s Ilchenko won the gold in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 27.7 seconds. Sutton finished 2:45.9 behind Ilchenko with a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 3.6 seconds. Sutton qualified in the women’s 10K Olympic event following her win at the 10K Olympic Open Water Test Event held in Beijing, China on May 31. This was the first Olympic appearance for the 16-year-old.
The debut of the men’s Olympic 10k marathon swim will take place Thursday at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. Mark Warkentin (Santa Barbara, Calif.), who placed seventh in the 10k at the 2008 Open Water World Championships, will compete at 9 a.m. local time.
