Stari Grad 2025: New knockout sprints provide spectacle for fans as Rasovszky and Fabian crowned inaugural champions
Hungary continued their impressive series of performances at the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships Stari Grad 2025 with two more gold medals as Kristof Rasovszky and Bettina Fabian became the inaugural 3km knockout sprint champions on a thrilling day three on the Croatian island of Hvar.
The 3km knockout events are making their debut on the European Aquatics open water swimming calendar following a successful senior introduction at the Ibiza stop of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup a month ago.
The men’s event involved 24 athletes completing a 1500m swim, with the top 16 athletes progressing to the next round, where a 1000m swim whittled the field down to 10, setting up a 500m sprint for the medals.
And it was the trio of Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky, France’s Logan Fontaine, and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri who took the field out, with all three of them having taken at least one medal from the 5km and 10km events in the previous two days.
Although it was Rasovszky who was ahead at the halfway stage of the 1500m race, the Italians also looked well-up for a battle, with Matteo Diodato and Davide Marchello joining the leaders as they turned for the final straight.
As the leaders realised they were able to ensure their progression to the next round, the field began to converge into the final funnel, with the majority touching within five seconds of the leader, Paltrinieri.
With eight athletes eliminated, the remaining 16 lined up for the 1000m race, after five minutes of rest. Once again, those athletes who did well in the 1500m race were at the front down the opening straight, with Rasovszky and and his compatriot David Betlehem going out alongside Paltrinieri – emulating the 5km podium from yesterday’s race.
The main difference in this race was how the trio were battling. Although there were no medals up for grabs, there did seem to be a desire from them to make a statement going into the 500m.
With the final buoy to go around on the home straight, the Hungarians were the only swimmers to go left – coming into the funnel wide, which allowed Paltrinieri to hug the wall of the bay and touch the pads in first, with Diodato and Marchello making it an Italian 1-2-3 as the top-ten had just over five minutes to prepare for a 500m dash for the medals.
With the final circuit providing short straights, the turns around the buoys would be even more important for those wanting to take a step on the podium in the Stari Grad square.
The 10 athletes who took to the pontoon ready to start the race were Paltrinieri, Marchello and Diodato of Italy, Rasovszky and Betlehem of Hungary, Marc-Antoine Olivier, Sacha Velly and Logan Fontaine of France, Matan Roditi of Israel and Arne Schubert of Germany.
The race turned into a battle of tactics, with the three Italians and two Hungarians staying together on either side of the standing buoys as they came into the turn.
It was the Hungarian pairing who did enough to get round it first, albeit through a wave of limbs as they came in quite tight to the corner.
With just 200 metres to go, all of the athletes increased their stroke rate and flung themselves towards the pads, and it was Rasovszky who ultimately maintained his pace and fended off a late charge from France’s Fontaine, who was able to find an extra gear through the gap created for him in the middle of the pack to add to the 10km gold he won on Wednesday.
Betlehem, although overtaken by the Frenchman in the final few metres, still managed to come through decisively in third and add to the 5km silver medal he won yesterday.
The result means that Rasovszky has taken three medals from as many events – his best result at a European Championships in terms of a medal tally. When speaking to European Aquatics after the race, he gave some insight into how he approached the unique format, and why he wanted to make sure he always remained at the front of the pack.
“It felt really good,” he said. “I know that in the first one and maybe in the second one I can save some energy, so the first one was quite easy, but in the second one it was really hard to count on whether you are in the first ten or not, so I didn’t want to make it exciting for myself.
“I know that if I get a good start and push really hard, I can be on the podium, and I managed it. I saw David [Betlehem] at the first turning buoy and noticed that we are in the first two, so I hoped we can come in a Hungarian 1-2, but Logan [Fontaine] made it a bit harder than we expected. It’s still really good to be again on the podium with David as well.”
Fontaine produced what could be considered as a textbook example of how to swim the race, as he finished in seventh, sixth and the second as each round passed. He shed some light on his tactics for the race.
“I tried to manage myself to have the maximum rest between the rounds so I don’t push too hard over the first two distances.” He said with a cool demeanour following the medal ceremony. “I didn’t expect the medal because it was harder to start again with each round but in the end I just tried take to the inside so I could have the best position at the end of the race. I saw the opportunity through the gap made for me and I took it.”
Betlehem was in twelfth position following the first round, and he gave a few words on how he was feeling after almost missing out on the following rounds entirely.
“Yeah, I was a bit worried.” He said. “I was slow on my dive in the first lap, so I think I was 17th or something at the start, so I just needed to ensure that I got through and then enjoyed the next two rounds.
“I’ve had a bit of an injury recently, and I could see it affecting my stroke when I watched the 5km video back, so I was a bit slower than I expected after missing one week of training, but I’m happy with the result, even though I let Kristof [Rasovszky] through on my left side again, which I need to stop doing!”
Most of the big names from the previous two days lining up in the 26-strong women’s field, and the field split immediately split into two prongs, with Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz – who took gold in the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup earlier this month – setting the pace on the inside line.
This proved to be the better of the two as it afforded the optimal distance heading into the first turn buoy. Tarasiewicz was flanked by Hungary’s Fabian and Italy’s 5km gold medallist Ginevra Taddeucci, though the latter athlete dropped the field as they headed back towards the bay.
As they headed into the touchpads, Taddeucci was challenged by France’s Clemence Coccordano for the top-spot, and she let her go – being comfortable to settle for what was an eventual second place, and more than enough to see the pair of them through to the 1000m race, with Italy’s Antonietta Cesarano in third.
Behind them, there was a mad dash to be inside 16th place, and it was Turkey’s Su Inal who managed to throw her arm over to get to the pads, just 0.25sec ahead of 17th, as 10 athletes missed out.
After a five-minute break Fabian once again went well down the opening few hundred metresof the 1000m race and was flanked again by Taddeucci, with a clear group of seven putting in quite a strong pace as they didn’t want to be involved in the ensuing dogfight towards the end.
The Italian showed no signs of sticking around to battle for the end of the race, as they came in quite an orderly spearheaded fashion towards the pads. She was flanked by a three-way split of Fabian (second), Coccordano (third) and Italy’s Gabbrielleschi (fourth).
Following a closer to ten minute break, the now 10-strong group returned for a final 500m dash to decide the medallists. Fabian once again got the best start – being the only athlete to fully work her underwaters and instantly put two metres between herself and the chasing pack.
At the halfway turn, she did start to slow-up, but the three body-lengths she had over Spain’s Paula Otero Fernandez in second would be hard to close. It was the whole pack who did start to cut the deficit, but as in the first two races, the lead was never realistically in doubt as the 20-year-old Fabian stormed to take her first medal of the competition.
Fernandez, 21, was also very much in control of second place, It was the bronze medal where the spectacle really was, though, as Taddeucci and Germany’s Lea Boy went stroke-for-stroke into the pads and it was Boy who’s cycle was more optimal as she was able to continue her full stroke and touch just 0.19sec ahead.
Fabian spoke to European Aquatics on her story of a difficult 10km, meaning a step away from the 5km race, before coming back to win the 3km:
“It feels really good,” she said. “I really wanted to achieve at least one individual gold medal at this race and I’m happy that I won this knockout race. Unfortunately, the 10km was a pretty unlucky race for me and I got injured. That’s why I had to step out from the 5km.
“It was a really hard race. I think it’s going to be a harder race at the World Championships in Singapore, so I really have to prepare for that, especially because of the water temperature. It’s going to be really hot in there, but I felt good here. Also I didn’t race yesterday so I had more energy than the other girls.”
Silver medallist Fernandez was eager to speak about the race itself, which has crowned European senior medallists for the first time.
“Yeah, it’s my second knockout. The first was in the World Cup in Ibiza. I think this event is very entertaining for us and for the people who is watching. It’s very intense because you have to be all the time swimming very fast and you have 10 minutes to rest.”
After touching in tenth after the second round, and almost missing out on qualification, she provided a good point regarding how that affected her race plan.
“I think it was a good position for me because then in the last run I can start on the side. So for me it was good, but risky!”
Boy took her second bronze medal in a similar fashion to her first – a close finish on the touch.
“I saw the two girls in front and I was focused on catching them,” she said. “That helped me to visualise the finish and I think it gave me that extra bit of speed.”
After six thrilling individual races, the attention now turns to the 4x1250m mixed relay event, which will round-off proceedings. Both that event, and replays of the previous events, can be watched on European Aquatics TV.
Click here for the full schedule and results.
Click here to access European Aquatics TV.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
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