However, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist, who finished fourth at Paris 2024, admitted soon after her record-extending seventh overall World Cup success, it is likely to be her last.

The 32-year-old Brazilian entered the season-ending event in NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, needed to finish in the top-seven to be guaranteed the overall season crown.

Despite variable conditions and strong competitors, the veteran racer delivered the required result, before confessing it was a poignant moment as she contemplates her future in the sport.

“It’s been a really hard year because we swim the Olympic Games and I finished fourth which is not the best result, as you’re one step from the podium and at the last Olympic Games I’m the champion,” Cunha told World Aquatics.

“Of course, it happened and then for the World Cup is like when you ‘turn the key’ because I continued to swim this year and I’m really happy with this amazing overall ranking.

Cunha continued: “I think maybe this World Cup is the last time when I do all of the race and maybe in six-seven months I stop swimming.

When pressed on her motivations behind potentially stepping away from the sport the Brazilian admitted she was “really tired” after 18 years of battling elite rivals.

“My first World Championships was 2006, when I was 14 years old, now I’m 32 so it’s a long time to swim the open water and then I won everything, so for me I’m really happy.

“It’s really hard to continue because I’m really tired, but you never know, maybe next year I’ll feel I can swim one more year, but we will see.”

Whatever Cunha’s decision, the Brazilian will leave an astounding legacy in the sport.

Here World Aquatics takes a look at some of her key moments, well as those delivered by other leading athletes in the field, during the women’s 2024 season.

How The 2024 World Cup Season Played Out

The women’s 10km World Aquatics Open Water Swimming campaign began in Soma Bay, Egypt in late March, around six weeks after the 2024 World Championships in Doha.

That event had seen Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) claim the 5km and 10km double with Cunha grabbing bronze in the shorter distance event.

In addition to the Netherlands and Brazil, athletes from Australia, Spain and Portugal made up the other podium positions, suggesting there would be a host of diverse World Cup contenders throughout the season.

World Cup 1 – Soma Bay, Egypt – 23-24 Nov

And so the opener in Egypt would prove, with 2023 World champion Leonie Beck (GER) returning to form with a narrow victory ahead of rising star Bettina Fabian (HUN), with the teenager claiming just the second individual World Cup podium of her career.

Angela Martinez Guillen (ESP) secured her maiden honour at this level with third, with Cunha (BRA) fourth, admitting afterwards that was “happy” with the result as she tried “different race strategies” ahead of the Paris Olympic Games in August.

Leah Boy (GER), who was fifth, as well as Caroline Jouisse (FRA) and Viviane Jungblut (BRA) who followed, would all rise to greater prominence as the season progressed.

Paula Otero Fernandez (ESP) topped the sprint standings, with Ginevra Taddeucci (ITA) second, whilst Lamees Elsokkary (EGY) was first of the juniors.

World Cup 2 – Golfro Aranci, Italy – 24-25 Nov

Two months on from the last World Cup event the field reconvened in Italy for the second World Cup of the season.

Now Italy is a traditional powerhouse within the sport, but they would not attain any individual podium finishes across either the women’s or men’s events in home waters.

Instead, it was Brazil showing their continued, as well as emerging, medal-winning-potential, with Cunha claiming her first win in the series for nearly two years, as she narrowly defeated team-mate Jungblut (BRA), with Beck (GER) third.

World champion van Rouwendaal was fourth, in what was her only World Cup race of the season, while Jouisse (fifth), Fabian (six) and Taddeucci (eighth) picked up useful points.

At this stage Beck topped the overall standings with 1400 points, with Cunha on 1300 and Fabian, 1150, completing the top-three.

World Cup 3 – Setubal, Portugal – Oct 12

Following a break for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games which saw Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED), Moesha Johnson (AUS) and Ginevra Taddeucci (ITA) claim the respective gold, silver and bronze medals, the World Cup season recommenced.

Victory, for the first time in her career individually at this level, was secured by German Leah Boy.

Keen for redemption after narrowly missing out on the Olympic podium Cunha (BRA) fought hard in her return to action and would secure second, with countrywoman Jungblut third, ahead of Jouisse of France.

Beck opted to withdraw midway through the race and that, combined with Cunha’s podium finish, ensured the Brazilian would take the lead in the overall standings on 2000 points, with Jungblut and Fabian tied on 1650.

World Cup 4 – Hong Kong – Oct 26-27

Olympic silver medallist Meosha Johnson (AUS) had placed eighth in Setubal, in her first race since the Paris Games, but her form would soon return.

Just 10 days after the third stop on the World Cup tour the field reassembled for the first Hong Kong World Cup since 2017 (CHECK) and Johnson was the standout performer.

Although rarely mentioned among the leading contenders in the opening stages of the race she and Boy had energy conservation embedded in their race tactics and late sprints saw the Australian in particularly move clear.

Johnson finished a colossal 38.1 seconds clear, with fellow Olympic medallist Taddeucci (ITA) taking second and Boy (GER) third.

Cunha would touch in eighth, but retained a commanding lead in the overall standings on 2350 points, with Boy (1948) now second and Viviane Junglut (1900) third.

With 800 points available to the winner of the final World Cup though, Jouisse (1750) and Taddeucci (1600) remained in contention for the overall podium places.

World Cup 5 – NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 22-23 Nov

The season-finale took place as the final act of the third edition of the NEOM Beach Games, with open water swimming joining triathlon, 3x3 basketball, sport climbing, beach soccer and mountain biking in the multi-sport tournament.

Athletes marvelled at the facilities as well as ‘mini-Olympics’ vibe of the village and that positivity was projected into what became a compelling final race of the 2024 season.

Cunha knew that a top-seven finish would be enough to secure the overall title regardless of what other athletes in the field achieved, but she aimed to finish her campaign on the podium.

Boy, her closest competitor, needed to win and hope her Brazilian rival placed eighth or lower and the German had hope after Cunha ranked 19^th after the opening lap.

Taddeucci (ITA) and Lisa Pou of Monaco exchanged the lead in the early stages as they battled for the season’s overall sprint crown, which would ultimately go to the Italian.

Moesha Johnson (AUS) was again a class apart from the rest of the field in the second half of the race, eventually kicking clear to a 31.3 second victory.

Boy would place second with Taddeucci third, while Cunha secured a record-extending seventh overall World Cup crown by placing seventh in a tight finish.

“It was tough and I wasn’t happy with the race at times today, but it’s okay because I won the overall rank and that’s fine,” Cunha told World Aquatics after the race.

“It’s been an amazing experience in NEOM, I’m really happy to be here and for the people I hope maybe we can come here again next year.”

Check out the final season rankings following all five stages of the Open Water Swimming World Cup 2024 season. 

Other Notable Performances

In addition to Cunha’s overall title and Tadduecci’s sprint success, Lizian Sobral (BRA) was another able to celebrate overall success at the end of the final world cup after ranking top of the women’s Junior standings.

“All my memories from this year are very good, but my favourite competition was NEOM because I felt like my swam my best and I gave it everything to the last race of the season,” Sobral told World Aquatics.

“It’s my first year in the competition as a junior so I have seen a lot of strength in the competition and I look forward to growing in it in the years ahead, as I’m only 17.

Sobral continued; “Being able to do this for the first time and being at the last three World Cup legs has helped me to grow and prepare and I’m very excited about what’s coming up for next season.”