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Tim Shuttleworth lands 5km bronze on World Championship debut

Timothy Shuttleworth landed the biggest prize of his career with 5km open water bronze at the World Championships in Hungary.

The 20-year old from Loughborough University swam a well-paced race to finish third in 54:42.1 at Lake Balaton.

France’s Olympic 10km bronze medallist Marc-Antoine Olivier (54:31.4) won gold while Italy’s Mario Sanzullo (54:32.1) took silver.

Shuttleworth’s Loughborough teammate Tobias Robinson, also making his World Championship debut, was 16th in 54:59.0.

“To win a World Championship medal feels amazing,” said Shuttleworth, who is competing at his maiden Worlds in Hungary.

“It’s my first senior marathon race and gives me great confidence for the future. I’ve never done anything quite as physical as that race.

“No-one wanted to give anything away but I stuck at it and swam as hard as I possibly could to get on that podium.

“I got off to a good start and found a little bit of clear water which was a great introduction to my first World Championship marathon event.

“As the first lap unfolded the pack swarmed on me and I got stuck in the middle of it.

“It was a physical battle, and I took a couple of kicks, but I kept my head and focus to keep in the race.”

While he was contesting his first senior event, Shuttleworth is no stranger to open water competition.

He won the English 17/18 Years national title for 5km at Rother Valley in 2015.

However, the English swimmer is better known for his exploits in the pool, winning the British 1500m Freestyle title in 2016 before finishing 27th in the same event at Rio 2016 last summer.

  • Click here for full results from the 2017 World Championships.
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