Britain were among the first medal winners of the day this morning with a thoroughly deserved silver and bronze in the women's marathon 10km swim at Shunyi.
Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten led from the start to 50 metres from the finish before being overtaken by the unbeaten Russian Larisa Ilchenko, who has a habit of tracking the leaders and striking in the home straight.
A gutsy display from the pair in a gruelling event looked like it would yield a 14th gold for Britain but, after repeatedly attacking around the fringes over the last 200 metres, the 19-year-old Ilchenko, unbreaten since 2004, eventually broke down their stubborn resistance.
Ilchenko finished in a time of one hour 59 minutes 27.77 seconds. Payne came home second in 1:59.29.2 with Patten finishing in 1:59.31.0, just holding off a late burst from German Angela Maurer.
South Africa's Natalie Du Toit, an amputee who won five gold medals at the Paralympics in 2004, finished 16th.
Du Toit lost a leg below the knee in a motorbike accident several years ago.
The two medals in the inaugural 10km swim at the Games maintains Britain's impressive form in Beijing and brings their tally to 35.