updated 9:27 a.m. ET March 20, 2007

MELBOURNE, Australia - Chloe Sutton emerged from the water a trembling, teary mess, wondering what happened to her goggles. Angela Maurer buried her head in a coach's chest, knowing what it must have felt like to go 12 rounds with Mike Tyson in his prime. And everyone was covered in ugly, red welts, the work of jellyfish lurking off St. Kilda Beach.

Oh well, just another day of open water swimming.

Russia's Larisa Ilchenko claimed her second gold medal of the world championships Tuesday, winning a sprint to the finish with British up-and-comer Cassandra Patten in the 10-kilometer race.

Then again, no one really looked like a winner when it was over. They staggered onto dry land, just glad to have survived 6.2 miles of cool waters, rough tactics and all those nasty creatures lurking beneath the surface of Port Phillip Bay.

"I could hear girls screaming on the first lap when they got stung,'' said Ilchenko, who defended her 10k world championship after winning a fourth consecutive 5k title Sunday.

The pain was worth it if a medal was waiting at the finish line. But Maurer missed out on the bronze by just 1.2 seconds after a race that covered 6.2 miles and lasted more than two hours.

"My whole body is just burning,'' the German said after seeking solace from her coach.

Sutton, a 15-year-old Californian, got a rough introduction to her first world championships.

She had her goggles knocked off at the first feeding station, forcing her to hang on to a buoy until a worker on a jet ski brought out another pair. Sutton lost valuable time, spent most of the race swimming by herself and finished in 28th place. She was crying when she finally made it to the beach, covered in jellyfish stings.

"I tried to catch back up, but I just couldn't do it,'' she said.

Kalyn Keller was the top American, finishing ninth. She was 12.1 seconds behind the winner.

Mark Baker / AP Russia's Larisa Ilchenko reacts after winning the women's 10-kilometer ocean swim.

"I wouldn't call it an easy Tuesday morning swim,'' she said, before adding, "We got a lot of good experience out of that. It was my first time swimming with the Europeans. I'll know what to expect next time.''

Ilchenko and Patten were swimming stroke-for-stroke as they rounded the last buoy, but the Russian nudged ahead in the final 100 meters. She finished with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 57.9 seconds.

Patten was about a body length behind, crossing in 2:03:58.9. Australia's Kate Brookes-Peterson took the bronze in 2:03:59.5.

"I didn't have any strategy,'' Ilchenko said through a translator. "I was so tired. I was just thinking about finishing the race.''

Every swimmer felt the wrath of the jellyfish, which showed up during training but were really out in force for the race.

"It sounds weird, but it actually broke up the swimming a little bit,'' Patten said, managing a grin as she looked at the marks all over her body. "You're going, 'Ohhh, I've been stung. Ohhh, I've been stung again.'''

When asked where she had been stung, Patten replied, "Where have I not been stung? My face. My arms. A few of them even got me through my suit. About the only place I wasn't stung was the bottom of my feet.''

No worries, as they say in these parts.

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