Betlehem’s golden double headlines European success in Ibiza

European athletes put in another commanding set of performances at the second leg of the 2026 World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Ibiza, with Hungary’s David Betlehem emerging as the standout performer. Backing up his status as one of the circuit’s stand-out figures from the past 12 months, the 22-year-old claimed a commanding double in the men’s 10km and 3km knockout sprint, anchoring a weekend in which European swimmers consistently finished in and around the podium places across a busy two dats of racing.

The women’s 10km set the tone for the meet as it opened procedings early on Friday morning, with Spain’s Angela Martinez Guillen delighting the home crowds by securing silver after a controlled swim that saw her take her chances. She remained firmly in contention throughout and surged at the right moment to ensure a place on the podium, just five seconds behind Australia’s winner Moesha Johnson.

Hungary’s Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas added bronze the same distance behind, continuing her steady progression on the international stage with another composed performance in a tightly packed lead group.

Just behind, Monaco’s Lisa Pou delivered a strong fourth-place finish, narrowly missing out on the medals, while Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz confirmed her consistency with fifth. Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci followed in sixth, and Germany’s Lea Boy, who’s already a proven performer in this environment, took seventh.

Depth was further underlined by Hungary’s Bettina Fabian in eighth and a trio of Spanish swimmers, Clara Martinez de Salinas Pena and Candela Sanchez Lora, ensuring significant home representation inside the top ten.

In the men’s 10km, Betlehem asserted control in a high-quality field, timing his effort to perfection to secure victory in a closely fought finish that saw four swimmers within ten seconds of the gold. France’s Sacha Velly pushed him all the way to the touch, taking silver just four seconds behind, while Italy’s Andrea Filadelli completed the podium in what was the latest edition of a recent surge of impressive performances in the open water.

Italy’s strength in depth was particularly evident, with Marcello Guidi and Pasquale Giordano finishing fourth and fifth respectively, both remaining in contention deep into the race. France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, a long-time benchmark in open water swimming, took sixth, followed by Italy’s Ivan Giovannoni in seventh. Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky, another established name on the circuit, rounded out the European dominance of the top-eight.

Betlehem then doubled up in emphatic fashion in the men’s 3km knockout sprint on the Saturday, adapting seamlessly to the relatively new format, which consists of heats, semi-finals and a final across the distance. After progressing confidently through the earlier rounds, he delivered a decisive final to secure his second gold of the weekend. Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, one of the sport’s most decorated athletes, showcased his experience to take silver just under two seconds behind, while Olivier added another podium finish with bronze.

The final remained heavily European in composition, with France’s Logan Fontaine finishing fourth and Filadelli once again featuring prominently in fifth. Matteo Diodato added further Italian presence in sixth, while Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, a dominant force in traditional distance events, reached the final and placed ninth, underlining the crossover appeal of the knockout format.

The women’s knockout sprint brought another European medal through Boy, who built on her 10km performance to take silver after pushing Johnson all the way and coming up just a couple of seconds short.

Fabian continued her strong weekend by finishing fourth, just outside the podium places, while France placed two athletes in the final through Ines Delacroix in sixth and Caroline Laure Jouisse in seventh.

Spain’s Maria de Valdes ensured further home interest in eighth, with France’s Lou-Ann Gaudaire and Clemence Coccordano rounded out the European top-ten in ninth and tenth respectively. completing the European finalists in ninth.

Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics

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