European athletes take lion’s share of medals at Ibiza Open Water World Cup leg
European athletes produced a series of outstanding performances in the second leg of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Ibiza, Spain, reinforcing the continent’s dominance across both the traditional 10km races and the new 3km knockout sprint event – which provided fans on the Spanish island with a spectacle of a showdown to round off proceedings.
Following February’s first leg in Egypt which saw Germany take two of the three gold medals on offer, the European contingent was much better represented this time round, as both the Friday and Saturday sessions saw charges through the uniquely shaped course wherever you looked.
Spain’s Angela Martinez Guillen provided one of the highlights of the weekend, delighting the home fans by claiming a memorable victory in the women’s 10km race to raise the curtain on the competition. In a tightly contested battle, the 21-year-old surged to the front over the final 500 metres, edging out Germany’s Celine Rieder to secure gold in what proved to be a showdown between a handful of athletes right the way through to the pads.
Martinez, who has been steadily climbing the open water ranks since making her senior international open water swimming debut in the autumn of 2022, finished in a time of 1:58:41.40, just ahead of Rieder’s 1:58:43.30. It was a landmark moment for the young Spaniard, marking her first World Cup victory and doing so on home waters made the achievement all the more special. Riede, who herself is relatively new to the upper echelons of the sport, looked strong in patches and was good value for her silver medal. Hungary’s Bettina Fabian was the youngest podium finisher; the 20-year-old won a bronze medal in the 5km event at last year’s European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, and she looked strong over the 10km distance – getting to the pads just ahead of several chasers.
In fact, the top 10 was completely taken up by European athletes – who made up the entire leading pack. The dominance of those in the lead was clear to see by those in attendance at the CNSE Sailing Club, which provided a stunning backdrop for the two days of competition.
The men’s 10km race delivered one of the most striking results of the entire weekend as Italy completed a stunning full podium sweep. Andrea Filadelli produced a sensational performance to claim his first-ever individual World Cup gold, finishing in 1:50:30.90. Hot on his heels were teammates Dario Verani, who secured silver in 1:50:33.20, and youngster Giuseppe Ilario, who took bronze with a time of 1:50:34.90.
For Filadelli, it was a breakthrough moment on the international stage, while the Italian sweep underlined the country’s exceptional depth and power in open water swimming ahead of both the European Open Water Swimming Championships and World Aquatics Championships later this year. All three podium finishers from last year’s Paris Olympic Games were in and amongst the pack, which saw a lot of turbulence and clashes throughout the 6 laps of the 1.6km course, making it one of the highest-quality races in recent years. The nature of the result proves that open water swimming on the continent is in a strong place heading towards next weekend’s European Open Water Cup leg and beyond, with France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier making it an all-European top four.
Ibiza also played host to the first-ever 3km knockout sprints in World Cup history, offering a new and dynamic format that tested swimmers’ endurance, tactics, and speed across multiple rounds. The heats (1.5km), semifinals (1km), and final (500m) proved to be a success – seeing a whole host of leaders at different stages of the competition – something which will bode well for those European Championships in Stari Grad at the end of May, which will also feature the event.
Once again, it was European athletes who rose to the occasion. Germany’s Lea Boy displayed superb race management throughout the day, conserving energy in the early rounds before powering home in the final to capture gold in the women’s competition. She was never inside the top three until that charge down the home straight on the 500m final, which lit up the crowd and saw her drop the two chasers as the race came to a head. Fabian followed up her 10km bronze the previous day by claiming silver in the event – keeping on Boy’s heels into the pads and touching out Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto to claim second. The excitement of the athletes once they left the water was a perfect metaphor for the lease of life the competition was given through the event.
The Men’s 3km Knockout Sprint closed proceedings, and it was Germany’s Olympic silver medallist Oliver Klemet who took top honours, following a difficult 10km race the previous day. His impressive 1500m pool speed proved decisive in the final metres as he surged clear to win the inaugural title in what was a sprint finish between him and fellow Olympic podium member David Betlehem (Hungary). Olivier also performed strongly, as he didn’t let the two get away from him and came home in a clear third place – taking the bronze medal and making sure he replicated his haul from the Egyptian round two months ago.
European athletes claimed the majority of medals on offer throughout the weekend, which served not only as a thrilling showcase of elite open water competition but also as a powerful reminder that Europe remains at the very heart of the global open water scene. Attention now turns to the first leg of the European Aquatics Open Water Cup in Cyprus next weekend (3rd May) and then to that pivotal European Open Water Swimming Championships in Croatia from 28th–31st May.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
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