Caroline Jouisse Wins Women’s 10K in Photo Finish, Italian Men Show Off Depth in Setubal

2023 Open Water Swimming World Cup – Setubal

• May 27, 2023
• Setubal, Portugal
• Full Results
• 2023 World Series Rankings

After more than two hours of racing, the women’s 10km showdown at third stop of the Open Water Swimming World Cup came down to the final sprint on Saturday in Setubal, Portugal.

France’s Caroline Jouisse surpassed 2016 Olympic and 2022 World champion Sharon van Rouwendaal late on the last lap, touching in 2:01:12.1 for her first victory of the tour. Italy’s Arianna Bridi (2:01:13.0), van Rouwendaal (2:01:13.0), Hungary’s Betti Fabian (2:01:13.5), and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci (2:01:13.6) were all within a second and a half of Jouisse.

With her third-place finish, van Rouwendaal inched ahead of Germany’s Leonie Beck (1740) in the overall series standings with 1750 points. Beck won the first two stops of the World Series in Soma Bay, Egypt, and Golfo Aranci, Italy. Here in Setubal, Beck came from behind to take the lead through the 6,000-meter mark, but faded to 17th at the finish.

The win vaulted the 29-year-old Jouisse to third place in this year’s standings with 1300 points. Olympic champion Ana Marcela Cunha didn’t compete for the second stop in a row after returning from shoulder surgery at the first race of the series in Soma Bay.

On the men’s side, the Italians put their depth on display by taking the top two spots on the podium even without their two best swimmers competing (Gregorio Paltrinieri and Domenico Acerenza).

Andrea Manzi took first place in 1:52:37.1, just a few seconds ahead of fellow Italian Marcello Guidi (1:52:41.7). The duo finished 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack, which was led by the Hungarian pair of David Betlehem (1:53:12.1) and Kristof Rasovszky (1:53:18.8). Italy placed a third swimmer in the top five courtesy of Mario Sanzullo (1:53:20.2).

Rasovszky earned his second fourth-place finish of this year’s tour to go along with his win at the last stop in Golfo Aranci. His total of 1900 points leads the men’s rankings ahead of Guidi (1750), Sanzullo (1150), and Betlehem (1100). German Olympic and World champion Florian Wellbrock didn’t race for the second stop in a row after winning the opening race in Soma Bay.

The Open Water World Cup will take a pause in preparation for the World Championships before returning in August at the Seine River in Paris, a preview of the 2024 Olympic site.