Setubal Open Water Swimming Preview | Kristof Rasovszky, Moesha Johnson headline first post-Paris World Cup

It’s been about two months since Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky sang his national anthem overlooking the Seine River in Paris while celebrating his Olympic gold medal in the men’s 10km. This Saturday, he will lead the field in the first World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup race post Paris as the 27-year-old will have all eyes on him in the waters of Setubal, Portugal in the 10km race.

Ravoszky’s biggest challenger will likely be France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, who was seventh in a home Olympics in early August at age 28. Olivier has been leading the overall series rankings through the first two races in the spring, and with three races remaining on the calendar, Olivier should extend his lead this weekend as he is 400 points ahead of Italy’s Dario Verani, currently in third overall.

Verani, age 29, did not compete at the Olympics in Paris but has long been one of the top 25km swimmers in the world, winning the five-hour race at the 2024 Europeans this year and the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.

Italy will also be represented by the likes of Andrea Filadelli and Marcello Guidi who have seen success on this World Cup circuit in the year 2024.

Portugal did not have an entry in this race at the Olympics but will be led this weekend in home waters by the likes of 23-year-old Diogo Cardoso and 25-year-old Tiago Campos, who represented the nation at the last two World Aquatics Championships.

This race will also feature Ukraine’s Igor Chervynskiy, who, at age 42, last competed in December 2021 at the Marathon Swim World Series in the United Arab Emirates. Chervynskiy won Worlds silver in the 1500m freestyle all the way back in Barcelona 2003.

Australia’s Moesha Johnson is back for more in her first race post Paris as the favoruite for this weekend’s 10km in Portugal as the Olympic silver medalist will be lining up alongside 2020 Olympic champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil and 2023 World champion Leonie Beck of Germany.

Johnson won a surprising silver in Paris thanks to her front end speed and tenacity as she will be looking to back that medal up with a superb swim in Setubal.

Cunha finished fourth in Paris at age 32 ahead of the likes of Hungary’s Bettina Fabian and Italy’s Giulia Gabbrielleschi, who will both be in Setubal this weekend. Those three were locked in a race in Paris this summer after losing contact with the pack early and will be looking to avoid that this weekend in Portugal.

Also in this race will be Germany’s Leonie Beck, who is leading the standings through the first two races from the spring. Beck was one of the pre–race favourites for Paris but could not perfect her race strategy in the Seine and wound up ninth in France. At age 27, she will still not be taken lightly as she leads Cunha and Fabian with 1400 total points to Cunha’s 1300 and Fabian’s 1150.

Brazil’s Viviane Jungblut, who was 11th in Paris, is fourth with 1050, ahead of France’s Caroline Jouisse (900), who was eighth in a home Games.

Home nation Portugal will be represented by Mafalda Rosa, who was 19th at the World Aquatics Championships earlier this year in February at age 20.

The race will begin at 3:00 p.m. local time with both men’s and women’s races occurring simultaneously. Check out the Setubal Where to Watch Guide.