Stari Grad 2025: Opening Ceremony involving 20 nations European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships
The Croatian town of Stari Grad is all set for the start of the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships Stari Grad 2025, which get underway on Wednesday May 28.
The four-day competition sees Europe’s best marathon swimmers take to the bay’s waters to decide this year’s European champions from May 28 to 31.
The Opening Ceremony for the competition took place in the square adjacent to the starting pontoon, with many in attendance to witness speeches from the European Aquatics President Antonio Silva, EA First Vice President Josip Varvodic, Josip Pavic, State Secretary of Ministry of Tourism and Sport for Croatia and Antonio Skarpa, Mayor of Stari Grad.
A special commemorative award was given to Hungary’s Rita Lazar, who took gold in the 1989 edition of the Championships, which were also held in Stari Grad.
The final day of preparation for the competition in the town, which is located on the island of Hvar, saw athletes fine-tuning their strategies and race-readiness in both the pool-training and course-training sessions in the sun before the evening’s Opening Ceremony.
The competition starts tomorrow (Wednesday, May 28) with the showpiece women’s and men’s 10km events. With 29 women scheduled to compete in the race at 9am local time (CEST), we are set to have a different winner from 2024 this time around as Germany’s 2024 winner Leonie Beck is taking a step away from competing.
One of the main contenders for the women’s title is Italy’s Barbara Pozzobon. The 31-year-old took 10km silver at the 2024 European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade and looked in great form over the longer distance of 25km as well, taking gold.
Six laps of the 1.66km course are set to test the mettle of the women looking to take their place on the podium.
Pozzobon’s compatriot Ginevra Taddeucci, the Paris 2024 bronze medallist, and Hungary’s Bettina Fabian will also be strong favourites for medals, having taken silver and bronze respectively in the 5km event last year.
Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz, who took gold in the first leg of the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup 2025 earlier this month, will also be competing as a big favourite.
The men’s 10km event will take place at 2pm local time and will see one of the most high-profile fields in recent years. Favourites for the title include Italy’s open water powerhouse Gregorio Paltrinieri and his compatriot Andrea Filadelli, who took overall men’s victory in last year’s European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup.
Hungary’s Hunor Kovacs Seres took bronze in that same cup competition, and arrives in good form. His compatriots David Betlehem and Kristof Rasovszky both stepped onto the Olympic podium last year, earning respective bronze and gold, and will almost certainly be in the mix for the medals this time around.
The 5km events, which take place on day 2, is likely to feature Taddeucci and Fabian’s amongst the favourites for the women’s title, with the vast majority of the field set to compete in the event after already competing in the 10km the previous day.
As for the men, all of the 5km medallists from the 2024 European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade will be taking part, and will look to be in and amongst the medals come the home straight; those being Betlehem, Marc-Antoine Olivier of France, and Marcello Guidi of Italy.
The final two days will see fan-favourite formats take to the fore. The new 3km knockout sprint, which was warmly received on its maiden outing at the second leg of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup in Ibiza, could see medallists from any angle – particularly due to the 500m sprint showdown with those who make it to the final stage.
The same could be said with the 4 x 1500m mixed relay, as those who may have backgrounds in pool swimming will seek to take advantage of the unique opportunity afforded to them through the course design.
It would be a safe bet to assume that those mentioned above will feature heavily in the event, and those in attendance can look forward to a great spectacle of open water swimming.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
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