Singapore 2025: Wellbrock seals sensational 10km–5km World Champs double as Taddeucci adds second silver

Europe’s open water dominance was on full display once again in Singapore, as Florian Wellbrock stormed to his second gold medal of the week in the men’s 5km on Friday, completing a remarkable 10km–5km double at the World Aquatics Championships 2025. Just two days after powering to victory in the 10km, the planet’s best marathon swimming athletes returned to the shores of Sentosa Island to do battle once more in challenging conditions.  

In over 30+ degree heat and choppy waters, the 27-year-old bided his time in the early laps of the 5km race, staying tucked into the pack as a wall of Europe’s finest paced through the hot, humid morning sea. But as the final kilometre approached, Wellbrock made his move as they came in towards the funnel, with many of the athletes going stroke-for-stroke throughout the race as they tried to keep up with the pace following the gruelling 10km race two days earlier. 

Despite still not being more than a few body-lengths ahead of the rest of the top-ten, the German touched the timing pad in 57:26.40, securing his third world title over 5km and his eighth in total across both the 1500m in the pool and his efforts in the open water. 

“That felt rough.” he said when speaking to World Aquatics following the race. “In the last 100, Greg (Paltrinieri) tried to push. I tried to move faster, but it wasn’t possible. The end of this 100m was quite tough.” 

Three further European athletes finished within a handful of seconds of the lead, and it was Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – Olympic champion in the pool and now a mainstay in open water – who dug deep over the final 500 metres and take his second silver of the week in a time of 57:29.30. 

“It’s amazing,” Paltrinieri said to World Aquatics. “It was a tough race, even tougher than the 10km race the other day because everyone was so close in terms of times. For me, it was a beautiful race. I was really tired today, my finger was hurt from the start and I lost the medical tape on my finger, so it was really challenging. I tried to do my best, I knew Florian (Wellbrock) was the favourite to win the race so I tried to stick close to him and tried to attack him but I wasn’t close enough. But it was a good race.” 

Just one second behind the Italian in third was France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, who swam an intelligent race to secure bronze in 57:30.40. A former world champion over the distance himself, the achievement was his seventh medal at the World Championships, and rounds off a year which also saw him take bronze in the 10km at the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships Stari Grad 2025. 

Italy’s Marcello Guidi was a couple of seconds further behind in fourth, coming home in 57:32.30. 

This win cements Wellbrock’s legacy as one of the greatest open water athletes of his generation. After sweeping the 10km and 5km in both 2023 and now 2025, he becomes the only swimmer to have ever won the 10km and 5km races at the same World Championships on two separate occasions. 

Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci, like Wellbrock, returned for her women’s 5km with a similar amount of tenacity. Just like in Wednesday’s 10km, the 28-year-old found herself locked in a head-to-head showdown with Australia’s Moesha Johnson in the event. And once again, the gap between them was heartbreakingly close. 

From the first turn buoy, Taddeucci looked sharp. She matched Johnson stroke for stroke through the early splits, and as the field splintered behind them, the race for gold became a two-woman contest. With every stroke of the final lap, the tension built. The pair were virtually inseparable as they surged into the final straight. 

Ultimately, it was Johnson who found the slightest edge, touching in 1:02:01.30, just one second ahead of Taddeucci’s 1:02:02.30 – the exact same margin as in the 10km. But the Italian was proud of her efforts in what was widely-agreed to be one of the more difficult races, as the pair finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto, who took bronze. 

“Today was more simple than the 10km race,” Taddeucci said to World Aquatics. “The water was a little bit better, I’m very happy. I tried at the end, in the sprint, but Moesha (Johnson) is a very fast and strong woman. The sprint, the last lap was the toughest. But I’m very happy.” 

Further back in the field, several other Europeans delivered strong performances. Spain’s Maria de Valdes finished just four seconds behind the Japanese athlete with a spirited performance of her own. Celine Rieder of Germany finished fifth just two seconds outside further back in fifth, with eight of the top-ten being taken up by European athletes. 

With Wellbrock’s historic double and Taddeucci’s pair of silvers leading the charge, European athletes have already made a profound impact on the 2025 World Championships. Add in multiple top-10 finishes from Germany, Italy, France, and Hungary, and Europe’s open water programme continues to set the standard across the globe. 

With the 3km knockout sprint and mixed relay events to come over the next two days, European athletes will be sure to be in-and-amongst the medals when the action resumes. 

Click here for the full schedule and results.

Click here to watch live on Eurovision Sport.

Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics

The post Singapore 2025: Wellbrock seals sensational 10km–5km World Champs double as Taddeucci adds second silver first appeared on European Aquatics®.