Legendary champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil has a clear lead in the women’s event, with Marc-Antoine Olivier holding a slender advantage in the men’s, but with 800 points available to the race winners, the destination of the respective titles are still far from certain.

“I’m super excited to race in NEOM,” Olivier tells World Aquatics. “It’s a brand-new location for me and I’m really looking forward to exploring this new playground.”

The fifth and final leg of the 2024 series will see around 70 athletes contest respective individual 10km and 4x1500m mixed relay races over two days, from 22-23 November.

The competitions will mark the conclusion of the multi-sport NEOM Beach Games which began on 2 November and have seen athletes from triathlon, 3x3 basketball, beach soccer, sport climbing and mountain biking battle for medals over the last three weeks.

Open Water Swimming World Cup in NEOM – What Is At Stake?

As with previous events the individual 10k race winners, on 22 November, will receive 3,500 USD in prize money, with the overall season victors awarded 50,000 USD.

The champions for the ‘World Cup Sprint’ and ‘World Cup Junior’ will receive awards of 10,000 USD and 5,000 USD respectively, following the conclusion of the fifth leg.

There is no overall title for the 4x1500m mixed medley, but the winners will receive 5,000 USD for the team who touches first in NEOM.

Neom Open Water Swimming World Cup – Contenders: Men

Marc-Antoine Olivier (FRA) – 2500 points

The Frenchman won World and European silver medals ahead of his home Olympics, but finished seventh in the Seine. 

He has claimed one victory, a third and two fourth-places during the World Cup season and hopes to end his 2024 season with a major overall podium.

“My main goal for the year was obviously Paris, but I’ve kept this target in mind as well,” Olivier tells World Aquatics. 

“It’s my way of bouncing back after a defeat, and winning the overall ranking would be a great achievement to end this wonderful 2024 season.”

Dario Verani (ITA) – 2350 points

The 29-year-old claimed the first individual World Cup victory of his career last time out in Hong Kong and seems to have made significant improvements over the 10km distance this season, having previously attained him major medal successes in the 25km events.

“It (victory in Hong Kong) was very important victory because it was the first in the 10km and it gave me a lot of confidence in the path I’m on,” Verani tells World Aquatics.

“In NEOM I hope to repeat the performance and I hope I will do an excellent race, because for me, (overall) victory would mean a lot because it would be the first time.”

Andrea Filadelli (ITA) – 2000 points

Our third Italian on the contenders list is a 23-year-old enjoying a strong breakthrough season on the senior circuit. His silver medal in Portugal (leg two), together with a couple of fifth-place finishes have given him a shot at the overall crown in NEOM.

Marcello Guidi (ITA) – 2008 points

But for a difficult race result in the second leg, where he finished 21^st in home waters, Guidi has enjoyed a strong season. Victory in leg three as well as second in the penultimate round of the World Cup has put him in a strong position for the overall podium

Other Ones-To-Watch: Men

Reigning Olympic champion Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary will continue his return to the sport by competing in his fifth World Cup of the season and will be joined by Paris 2024 silver medallist Oliver Klemet. Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Florian Wellbrock will race for the first time since this summer’s Games.

Neom Open Water Swimming World Cup – Contenders: Women

Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) – 2350 points

After opening the season with fifth in Egypt, the Brazilian won leg two in Italy before placing second in Portugal. Following a post-Olympic break though she could only finish eighth in the penultimate race of the season, giving others hope that they could yet overall her total.

Leah Boy (GER) – 1948 points

The German finished sixth and 28^th in the opening two races of the World Cup season, but her form has improved dramatically since. Victory in the third leg, together with third in Hong Kong, saw the 24-year-old move into contention for the overall title.

Viviane Jungblut (BRA) – 1900 points

The Brazilian won her maiden World Cup honours back in 2017, but had gone six years without a podium finish in the competition before placing second in Italy. She followed that up with third in Portugal and has proven potential to mix it with the best in the sport.

Caroline Laure Jouisse (FRA) – 1750 points

The French swimmer, who competed for the host nation at this year’s Olympic Games, finished third overall in the 2023 World Cup. Although she is yet to place on the individual medal in 2024 her consistency across the four races to date has seen her remain in contention for an overall podium finish.

Bettina Fabian (HUN) – 1650 points

The Hungarian former World junior champion won World Cup silver in Egypt, but lost ground on her rivals after skipping the fourth leg following her exertions at the Paris Olympics, but the 19-year-old is now back and targeting a strong finish to her campaign.

Other Ones-To-Watch: Women

Italian Ginevra Taddeucci opened her World Cup campaign with fourth and eighth-place finishes before her shock Olympic bronze medal-winning performance at Paris 2024. She claimed silver in Hong Kong last month and 

Olympic silver medallist Moesha Johnson (AUS) continued her impressive second half of the season with 10km and 4x1500m mixed relay victories in the Hong Kong leg of the World Cup series.