World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 2025 – Stop 1
- February 21-22, 2025
- Somabay, Egypt
- Meet Central
- Results
Germany’s Florian Wellbrock and Australian Moesha Johnson brought home gold on the first stop of the 2025 Open Water World Cup. They also aided their teams to a 1-2 finish respectively in the 4×1500 mixed relay event.
Wellbrock leveraged a strong back half to win the men’s 10k, taking the lead at lap three of six and never looking back. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Champion finished in 2:01.33.60, more than 10 seconds ahead of Frenchmen Logan Fontaine and Marc-Antoine Olivier.
The day after the 10k, Wellbrock propelled Germany to a gold medal in the team race. The first three legs, Isabel Gose, Jeannette Spiwoks, and Oliver Klemet, swam neck-and-neck with the event’s reigning world champions, Australia. Wellbrock, the anchor, dove in pulled ahead of Australia by thirty seconds by the finish.
Australia settled for silver. Italy, the event’s 2023 World Champions, scored third.
The Aussies had a very successful showing in the women’s 10k race. Johnson, the reigning Olympic silver medalist, took the gold in 2:06:34.60. Three seconds behind her was Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci (2:06:37.60), while Johnson’s Australian teammate Chelsea Gubecka claimed bronze (2:06:51.00).
Johnson and Wellbrock officially punched their tickets to the 2025 Open Water World Championships in Singapore with their first-place finishes.
The pair also climbed up in World Aquatic’s new world rankings system. Johnson shot up to #5 after previously sitting at #11. Wellbrock, meanwhile, ascended two spots from #9 to #7. Both silver medalists also moved up in the rankings: Taddeucci from #8 to #6 and Fontaine from #5 to #2. Click here to learn more about the World Aquatics’ new ranking system.
The next world cup stop will be from April 25 to 26 in Ibiza, Spain.
Once again no U.S. swimmers at an international open water race. USA Swimming should either get behind the open water swimmers and start treating them and their events with the respect, support and opportunities they provide the pool swimmers, or allow open water swimming to branch off under its’ own governing body. USA Swimming expects Olympic medal results in this discipline but does nothing to help make that happen.
Go the Aussies! Mo is on such a roll.