Florian Wellbrock
German Florian Wellbrock topped the podium once again at the Open Water Swimming World Cupin Mexico, claiming gold in the Men’s 3km Knockout Sprint ahead of Marc-Antoine Olivier and David Betlehem.
The race in Cancun delivered more of the drama that was witnessed in the 10km, and culminated in an extremely close battle for gold between Wellbrock and Betlehem.
As winner of the semifinal, Betlehem chose his preferred position on the pontoon for the final – a privilege which the fastest qualifiers earn.
A strong start from the 23-year-old saw him and Wellbrock racing shoulder-to-shoulder for the majority of the final 500 metre lap.
But Wellbrock kicked up another gear in the final 150 metres, creating a slight lead he cemented with an excellent final turn.
Speaking after the race, the 2020 Olympic Champion said: “Two golds is a great surprise for me to be honest, I only started my season on 1 October so I didn’t expect this.I think everyone was tired from yesterday. I struggled a bit in the second 1000 metre lap, so I didn’t expect the gold after that.
“But I had a really good start in the final lap, I took the first buoy in first place and I think it’s a really important spot for the final 500 metre lap, so it worked pretty well.
“It’s really important to have good turns in the 500 metre sprint, on the last turn I just tried to create a bigger gap to David because he’s really fast – one of the fastest especially in the sprint.”
Wellbrock is part of the same training group as Moesha Johnson, who both train under coach Bernd Berkhahn. Speaking on their joint-dominance at this event, he added:
“Moesha is really strong and she’s been dominating the women’s races for a long time.
“To work with Moesha and Bernd it’s so much fun and I enjoy every moment at home in Magdeburg and it’s a great way to be competitive for these events.”
The Hungarian Olympic silver medallist also found his second podium of the meet with silver behind Wellbrock, a result which he was very happy with given the ‘tough race’.
With three laps to swim in the 3km Knockout Sprint – 1500 metres, 1000 metres followed by a 500 metre sprint – tactics play a huge part in this race.
“It was very tough. The 1500 metre lap was hard but I felt really good in the second (1000 metres) and I was able to win that,”said Betlehem.
“So I felt good heading into the last 500 metre round, but it was a tough race. Florian started very hard, so I was trying to just go next to him.
“Then on the last buoy, I got stuck which was unfortunate, but it was a great finish, so I’m happy that I was able to go very close to him.”
Speaking on the importance of nailing the skills in shorter-form racing, he added: “In the 500m, if you start well and have a good first turn, it’s difficult to not be on the podium.
“I had a great first turn so had the biggest advantage, but then not having the best line coming into the finish meant that there wasn’t enough time for me to catch up.
“It’s a really fun race, so maybe when I’m in better shape I can beat him [Florian].”
The ‘king of consistency’, as Olivier is affectionately known, was back in medal-winning form on day two of competition after a disappointing result in the 10km.
The veteran finished 18th there, commenting: “Yesterday was difficult, it wasn’t the result I wanted.
“I started well and felt good enough to win the sprint lap, and after that I tried to stay focused and save my energy.
“But when the field pushed the pace in the last lap, I didn’t have the energy to keep up.”
Olivier certainly had the energy today, however, and posted a tactical masterclass across the three rounds.
With a game-plan of saving energy across the opening two laps, he held off challenges from fourth and fifth-place finishers Andrea Filadelli and Marcello Guidi to claim bronze.
“I’m happy today because I found another solution to win another medal,” he said.
In sixth was home-favourite Paulo Strehlke Delgado who posted his best result of the meet after finishing 11th in the 10km.
Italy showed their strength over this shorter-distance race with four athletes in the final, with Davide Marchello and Fabio Dalu finishing seventh and ninth, respectively.
Australia’s Bailey Armstrong had a stand-out performance and posted his best result at a World Cup since before the 2025 season by touching home eighth.
20-year-old Leonardo Brandt De Macedo rounded out the top ten in what is an event he continues to show impressive form in; his best result coming at the Ibiza edition in 2026 where he finished seventh.
Moesha Johnson Rounds Out ‘Year on Top’ with Golden Cancún Stop
Australia’s Moesha Johnson was victorious in the Women’s 3km Knockout Sprint event, closing the first stop of the new Open Water Swimming World Cup season with a perfect record.
Johnson’s win, which she took over Ichika Kajimoto and first-time World Cup medallist Lisa Pou, marked more than just a clean sweep of the women’s events in Mexico.
It also signifies a perfect record for the entire year of 2026 with wins in all individual World Cup events, a golden run at the Pan Pacific Open Water Championships as well as the German National Championships.
Speaking on her incredible achievement – a feat which no other open water athlete has ever achieved – she said: “This win makes me undefeated in 2026. It’s pretty crazy, and I never came into this year expecting that.
“I don’t know if I, or anyone else will be able to do that again. Once I won yesterday, it made me want to go and complete the year like that.”
The sprint-lap was created by World Aquatics as an incentive for athletes competing on the circuit to be able to win additional bonuses ($1000) while they race.
Across all five Open Water World Cup stops that have taken place in 2026, Johnson won every single sprint-lap in the 10km.
“The plan this year was just to make some money,” Johnson joked. “But that’s just turned into my new tactic now.
“I’m grateful for the sprint lap because it’s challenged me in that way and it’s changed the athlete that I am and the race that we’re racing.”
As she continues building momentum towards the World Championships in Budapest next year and the LA Olympic Games beyond that, Johnson had a message for fans of the sport.
“I’m really grateful for everyone who is following along, everyone who is tuning into open water.
“There’s so much more to come and people should really get behind our sport, get behind what we’re doing because we want to see this sport grow bigger and bigger beyond LA 2028.”
Ichika Kajimoto ensured Japan took home yet another silver medal following Airi Ebina’s success in the 10km on day one.
As the defending World Champion in this event, Kajimoto now has a haul of five Open Water World Cup medals – all from the 3km Knockout Sprint event.
Speaking on her pedigree in this race, she said: “Of course, the 10km is my main goal, but I use this event for improving her sense of competition.”
Remarkably, her younger sister Sachika Kajimoto recently won bronze in this event at the Junior Open Water World Championships.
“When my younger sister won the medal at the World Juniors, it was really inspirational for me,” she added.
The friendship and support between Kajimoto and Ebina – who also made the final in this event and finished sixth – was clear to see.
She spoke fondly of being able to share a podium finish with her, commenting: “It’s really good for me to see my teammate win a medal.
“Having two medal winners actually increases the excitement and inspiration for the entire team.
“One of my dreams was not only for herself but also for my teammate to win a medal. So the fact that we’re bringing two medals back to Japan is really nice.”
Monaco’s Lisa Pou is one of the most consistent performers on the open water circuit, and frequently features in the top five and top ten standings.
Surprisingly though, Pou had never won an individual Open Water Word Cup medal until today in Cancún.
Her result was made more special by the fact that she was forced to withdraw from the 10km due to illness.
“This is really surprising because yesterday I was feeling really bad. I had a really good night of sleep, but this is still surprising!
“One thing that helped me were the waves, I really liked it – it was amazing and I really enjoyed the race.”
Although the LA Olympic Games are just under two years away, the elite open water athletes all have one eye on that milestone, including Pou.
The course in Cancún has been likened to what’s expected for the Games, meaning many of the athletes have relished the opportunity to practice in a similar environment.
“LA is my head, it’s in everyone’s head. I think it was a little more than choppy today. Normally I’m really bad in choppy waves but today we got some bigger waves and I think that’s why I got the medal.”
Speaking on the significance of her medal win, the 27-year-old said: “This is just the journey and we learn at every step and every race is good to experience.
“I’m building little by little and hopefully one day I’m going to have a gold medal, not just for me but for everyone that supports me and my dad – who is my coach – as well.”
Bettina Fabian of Hungary and Lea Boy of Germany – who are frequent podium finishers in this event – touched just outside the medals in fourth and fifth place in what was a tightly-packed group finish.
The Women’s 3km Knockout Sprint event closed the competition in Cancún, with attention now turning to the next stop in Somabay, Egypt on 19 and 20 March 2027.
