Australia was two seconds behind Italy when Lee dived in for the final leg of the relay at the Doha major, but he lingered within close proximity of Domenico Acerenza and pipped his rival in an engrossing battle up the finishing chute.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/strong> Incredible tiny detail revealed in Paris medals\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Insane' age gap created by teen's Opals call-up<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE:<\/strong> 'Proudest moment' led Gagai to end All Stars boycott<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Agonising over confirmation, the Australian quartet of Moesha Johnson, Chelsea Gubecka, Nick Sloman and Lee waited nervously on the pontoon. When word filtered through, they were able to celebrate Australia's first open-water relay world title in history.<\/p>\n Australia took victory in 1:03:28.00, ahead of Italy in 1:03:28.20. Hungary secured bronze with a time of 1:04:06.80.<\/p>\n "It was the team that put me in the best possible position \u2026 I couldn't ask any more of them," Lee said.<\/p>\n "I just tried to stay calm and it is so hectic in that finishing chute \u2026 I guess I got lucky on the touch."<\/p>\n Watch the 2024 World Aquatics Championships\ufeff live and exclusively on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Johnson opened the relay, Gubecka swam second and Sloman took the third leg.\ufeff<\/p>\n "I am just so proud of this team," Johnson said.<\/p>\n "We won a bronze medal as the underdogs last year. And, you know, I think that just has driven us all just to strive to get better.<\/p>\n "To be on top of the podium today against some really incredible nations is just so special for all of us.<\/p>\n "We've all had an incredible week with our 10kms and Chelsea's silver<\/a>."<\/p>\n The relay victory closed out a significant week for Australian open-water swimming. Never in Olympic<\/a> history has Australia had the full quota of marathon swimmers\ufeff, but that will change in Paris<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n