550,000 - Total prize purse of the 2025 World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup

Athletes will be vying for more than just World Cup wins in the Mediterranean Sea waters off the Spanish Balearic Islands with $40,000 USD on the line over the Men’s and Women’s 10km and 3km Knockout Sprint races. In addition to this payday, top contenders will accrue series points towards the World Cup Overall Rankings.

434,500 - Metres

Across 46 major international races between 2016-2025, Caroline Jouisse of France has covered 434,500 metres. With the 10km and 3km Knockout Sprint on tap these next two days in Ibiza

159 – Ibiza Sees an All-Time World Cup Record Number of Competitors

Never has there been a collection of athletes at an Open Water Swimming World Cup like in Ibiza- Eighty-four men and 60 women on the starting list for the 10km and 64 men and 50 women set to compete in the 3km Knockout Sprints.  

50 - International Aquatics Events in Spain

While Spain has hosted an impressive 49 World Aquatics events, including the World Aquatics Championships in 1986, 2003 , and 2013. This event marks Ibiza's debut as a host for the world's finest aquatic athletes. With a spectacular setting and strong organisational and municipal support, Ibiza is keen to show the world that its a place for experiencing sport and not just a party destination.

18 – Degrees Celsius

That is the World Aquatics temperature determination line for whether or not wetsuits are allowed in competition. While the sun is out and the winds are pretty calm, the water temperature is hovering right around the magical 18° Celsius cut-off line on Thursday’s official training session. Most athletes were out in wetsuits for their familiarisation swim, but tomorrow’s race day could be a wetsuit-free day. The World Aquatics Open Water Swimming officials will check the water temperatures again before the races on Friday and Saturday.

7 – Olympic Medallists Set to Compete in Ibiza

While Florian Wellbrock – the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion and the winner of the opening open water World Cup leg from Somabay – is off training, the Ibiza field is not only full – its stacked with top competitors. Just looking at Olympic medallists, the Ibiza event boasts six medal winners from the recent Olympic Games. This includes the defending Olympic men’s gold medallist, Kristof Rasovszky, making his 2025 international debut. The Hungarian is joined by teammate and Paris 2024 bronze medallist David Betlehem, who is also making his first start in the 2025 season’s top ranking.

The Hungarian duo is joined by Oliver Klemet of Germany, who earned silver at Paris 2024. There’s also Marc-Antoine Olivier of France, who won bronze at the Rio 2016 Games. The Italians are paced by Olympic medallists Gregorio Paltrinieri, a five-time Olympic medal winner in the pool and open water, and Ginevra Taddeucci, who earned bronze in the women’s 10km at Paris 2024.  Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil is also in Ibiza, her 19th year racing on the international circuit.

6 – Laps on Friday

The Ibiza course circles through the Santa Eulària des Riu beachfront area six times for both the men's and women's 10km individual races on Friday. Here's a bird's eye visualisation of what the race course looks like:

2 – Defending Open Water World Cup Champions in Ibiza

Marc-Antoine Oliver of France and Ana-Marcela Cunha of Brazil come into Ibiza as the defending Men’s and Women’s Overall Open Water Swimming World Cup winners from the 2024 tour. Both Cunha and Olivier secured their titles on the final day of competition last year in NEOM (KSA). For Cunha, it was her record-extending seventh overall World Cup crown.

Olivier—a 2024 World and European silver medallist—called winning the overall World Cup his “redemption moment” after missing out on a medal at his “home” Olympics, the Paris 2024 Games.

With World and European silver medals already secured in 2024, many in the sport would view Marc-Antoine Olivier’s year as a huge success, but he saw claiming the overall World Cup crown as his ‘redemption’ moment.

1 – World Cup Debut of the Men’s and Women’s Knockout Sprints

Traditionally the Mixed 4x1500m Relay day on the Open Water World Cup circuit, Saturday in Ibiza will see the senior international debut of the 3km Knockout Sprint race. The race was tested – and celebrated by athletes, teams and aquatic fans alike – at last year’s World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Alghero, Italy.

Want to know more about how the innovative 3km Knockout Sprint will run? Don't worry, we got you covered: