Stari Grad 2025: Rasovszky completes 10km collection as Mihalyvari adds to Hungarian dominance on day one

The first day of competition at the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships Stari Grad 2025 saw Kristof Rasovszky earn his first 10km European title, with his compatriot Viktoria Mihalyvari making it a Hungarian clean sweep of golds across both the men’s and women’s events.

Rasovszky has now taken World Championship, European Championship and Olympic Games titles in the event, and Mihalyvari has a story of her own – taking the women’s 10km title in what was only her second competitive race over that distance. 

With 31 athletes lining up for the men’s showpiece event, one of the most star-studded in recent years, the sun hid behind the foliage to create a unique coolness in the air and a great backdrop for the racing that was about to take place from 2pm local time. 

The race very much followed the tale of the tape through the first two laps. The Hungarian pairing of David Betlehem – bronze medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics – and Rasovszky took the race out straight from the pontoon as they sped from the outside into the lead, with the chasing pack falling in line behind them. 

It proved to be a battle of Olympic medallists as it progressed – with Italy’s Rio 2016 1500m freestyle champion and Tokyo 2020 10km bronze medallist Gregorio Paltrinieri joining the action at the front of what became a triangle with Rasovszky at the point and controlling the race with a measured stroke rate and calm turns round the buoys. 

The water began to create some waves for the athletes to negotiate as they reached the halfway stage, with Rasovszky still in control and the leading pack reduced to eight.

The triangle did change sides as the swimmers went under the 5km detection line, with Paltrinieri beginning to make his move as he took the lead, and with Betlehem in third. Also making moves during the third lap were Italy’s Andrea Filadelli and France’s Sacha Velly. The pair both moved onto the hips of the leaders at times and were within touching distance after the third lap. 

Velly moved up alongside Paltrinieri as the 6km mark approached and made one of the moves of the day when they split around the buoy. Moving to the right – in contrast to the rest of the field – he young French athlete upped his stroke rate and seemed to have got the better waves and rejoined the optimal line almost five metres ahead of Rasovszky, who lost the absolute lead of the race for the first time.  

While this gap was reduced as they went through the fourth checkpoint and refuelling stop, it was clear that Velly had the advantage, but the seven members of the leading pack still remained close, as Rasovszky and Paltrinieri (then second and third respectively) were just two seconds off the top spot. 

The penultimate lap ultimately saw experience prevail, as Velly seemed to be paying for the effort that overcut hd taken on him, as he was passed by both front markers down the opening straight, falling to fifth with one lap to go.

There was good news for the French team all-in-all, however, with Marc-Antoine Olivier surging through the field and overtaking Paltrinieri to make it a Rasovszky – Olivier – Paltrinieri 1-2-3 with one more lap of the 1.66km course still to go. 

There was a real show-stopper of a final kilometre for those in attendance in Stari Grad, however, as although the three athletes maintained their positions, the handful of athletes behind them were still within range. 

Once again, the positions held until the final 500 metres. There, Paltrinieri made a move to the right which forced the field into three prongs – led by the three aforementioned leading athletes. Although the two right prongs merged into one, Rasovszky kept to the far left of the funnel and had a wide entry into the touch pads. This proved fruitful, as he stayed clear of the bunched-up pack and cruised in to touch for the gold.

That bunched-up group saw countless athletes lunge for the pads at the same time, but when all was said and done it was the French athletes Logan Fontaine and Marc-Antoine Olivier who took respective silver and bronze in one of the closest and most exciting finishes in the competition’s history. 

Rasovszky spoke to European Aquatics after the race on a day where he had taken the first 10km European title that had eluded him for so long. 

“After seven years I’ve managed to get the gold medal at the European Championships”, the 28-year-old said with a smile. “It was a really long time to be on the podium again. The 10km was the missing piece which I didn’t manage to win, so I really wanted to make this happen.” 

Rasovszky was also presented with his European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Athlete of the Year Award at the ceremony, which he gave a few comments on as well: 

“It’s very nice to be [athlete of the year], because last year was a very good year for me with the world and Olympic goldit i. So it is a pleasure to be Athlete of the Year. The guys from France, Germany and Italy are all really good swimmers and it’s been a pleasure to race with them.” 

Silver medallist Fontaine gave his thoughts on the intricacies of the race as well when speaking after the medal ceremony. 

“The race was really hard,”he said. “I didn’t expect to get a medal after the first half of the race, but I managed to push harder and come better at the end. I didn’t plan it for this race, but I just tried to gain some places lap after lap.” 

His compatriot Olivier commented on the dynamic between the French pairing and his pride at being on the podium with Fontaine. 

“I’m very proud to be on the podium and take a medal with Logan”, he said. “It’s very good for the French team; we need to be focused on the next championship now.”

The women’s 10km event, involving 29 athletes, was the curtain-raiser for the competition.

It was a tightly-contested affair down the first lap of the 1.66km course, with many of the athletes looking to ride the waves of those around them and consolidate their position in the leading pack with five laps to go.

Italy’s Olympic bronze medallist Ginevra Taddeucci set the pace through the first lap, if there was anything to call between them, and had the tip of the spearhead as they came into the first refuelling stop. 

The majority of the field were within 10 seconds of the Italian at the final turn of the lap, but Spain’s Paula Otero Fernandez made a smart move round the final buoy to cut out some of the distance from Taddeucci and pass the first timing checkpoint with herself just in the lead, with a 10-second gap splitting the pack. 

The race would prove to be one of a continually changing narrative, with different athletes coming to the fore at different stages of the race. On the second lap, and as the race passed the 3km mark, the Hungarian pairing of Janka Juhasz and Viktoria Mihalyvari took over the lead, going stroke-for-stroke with the pack and maintaining a similar gap to the first lap. 

While Juhasz had the advantage going into the second refuelling stop and timing checkpoint, it was actually Taddeucci who managed to swim under the pads in first place, by virtue of being on the inside line of the two parallel channels of swimmers that formed into the final buoy.  

The pack began to thin out as the third lap took place, and into the halfway stage. Mihalyvari, 21, regained the lead of the race and led the 15 athletes in the now first of two packs into the final buoy.

The 400m medley European champion from the 2022 edition of the competition in Rome looked good value for her lead at the time – further adding to the proverb that pool swimming can be a springboard for competitiveness in the open water. She was flanked by Italians Taddeucci and Barbara Pozzobon as they headed into the second half of the race. 

The pecking order remained largely unchanged on the fourth lap, until the Italians mounted a surge to usurp Mihalyvari; though this ultimately proved futile as the Hungarian stayed the left side of the buoy and maintained the optimal line to offset their increase in pace and keep hold of the lead with two-thirds of the race completed.

The charge did see a small drop in ground made from the pair, and Fernandez took the provisional runner-up position ahead of the final 3km, with 13 athletes within 10 seconds of the lead. 

It was at this stage where Germany’s Lea Boy moved herself up into the upper echelons of the field. The 25-year-old took her place just behind the leaders of the two-pronged formation. 

Mihalyvari’s tactic on the previous lap of sticking to the left-side of the buoy and looking for the undercut on the final turn didn’t prove as effective on lap five, as she failed to stop the charge from Taddeucci on the outside who took the lead of the race as the pack converged, ahead of Boy in second place and Bettina Fabian in third with one lap to go. 

It was still anyone’s race to win on the final lap, with at last eight athletes all within a short burst of speed away from putting themselves in and amongst the medals. It was clear from the stroke rates and white water that all athletes were up for the fight, as Taddeucci, Boy and Fabian took a triangle formation with the Italian at the fore as the final kilometre beckoned. 

Mihalyvari’s tactics around the buoy paid dividends once again as they came around the penultimate corner. The Hungarian took the lead from Taddeucci in style and saw her just 500 metres from victory, but with a number of athletes still in with a chance. It was an even stronger battle for the medals, with Spain’s Maria De Valdes Alvarez also making her move into the final straight, along with Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz. 

UItimately Mihalyvari kept her advantage and powered home to take her first open water senior international title, and Taddeucci maintained her good run of consistent medals over the 10km distance as she put clear water between her and the chasing pack for silver.  

It proved to be a three-way battle for the bronze medal between Tarasiewicz, Fabian and Boy, who all came within 0.3 seconds of each other on the touch, but it was the latter athlete who did enough for her first open water international medal of the 2025 season. 

The gold medal is even more of an achievement for Mihalyvari, as it is only her second ever 10km race – after making the transition from the pool last year. Speaking to European Aquatics, she outlined how she had to adapt to the race as it was evolving. 

“I would’ve liked to be first place after each lap”, she said, “but it was hard. It was an amazing race, and all of the swimmers were so good. I had to do everything that I could to take the win.” 
 
Taddeucci also gave her thoughts on the race, saying that it was “very important” for her development. 

“That was a very important race for me, and I love doing open water. The last laps between Viktoria and I were very difficult, and I struggled with the pace as I’m not very fast – but I’m happy with the second place.” 

Boy also gave her thoughts on that photo-finish, which she ultimately came out best in: “I know that we are four girls in one row, and with two in front, so I knew that if I touched first I would get the medal, which is why I gave it everything.” 

Day two competion takes place tomorrow from 10am CEST, with the women’s 5km event, followed by the men’s 5km event at 3pm CEST.

Click here for the full results and schedule from the competition.

Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics

The post Stari Grad 2025: Rasovszky completes 10km collection as Mihalyvari adds to Hungarian dominance on day one first appeared on European Aquatics®.