Setúbal Soundbites | Open water athlete insights ahead of third World Cup stop

Preparations are well underway for the event, which will present different conditions for the athletes to those they experienced during the first two stops in Somabay and Ibiza. Five swimmers who are hoping to play a big part in Setúbal give us an insight into what we might expect. 

Kristóf Rasovszky - Hungary

The reigning Olympic champion is no stranger to racing at this venue, having first competed here back in 2017. Although his sights are set on the World Aquatics Championships, the Hungarian open water stalwart says that a podium finish in Setúbal would be a great signifier before Singapore.

On how he’s feeling coming into this event:
“I’m feeling really good, we had the European Championships two weeks ago which went really well so I hope I can do the same here and have a good race in the 10km and the knockout as well. I hope I can be on the podium; that would be a great sign before the Worlds.

"I’m really looking forward to racing here again because it’s one of my best venues where I compete. My worst ever result here was sixth place last year. I’ve been on the podium almost every time so I’m really happy to be here and hopefully going to continue with this series being in the top six and maybe on the podium.”

On race tactics:
“The water is going to be a bit chilly but it’s good for me so I’m happy with that. A big wind could come and make it a bit choppy so I’m preparing for a hard race. I think most of the best are going to stay together until the end but maybe there’s going to be a little pack on the front, like 10-12 swimmers that could get away from the big pack.”

On knockout sprint racing:
“It’s a new format, I’ve done it already twice at Ibiza and the Europeans and it went quite well. In Ibiza I was fourth and in the Europeans I won. It’s really tactical and you have to prepare for everything. You have to focus on the places and in the 500 you have no time to be tactical, you just have to push it as hard as you can.

"The [new course] is not really a big change but hopefully it gives a better view for the audience to see the race results, especially for the knockout on Sunday. I hope a lot of spectators will be there and it’s going to be a great event this year as it has been.”

Enjoyment over pressure:
“I’m just trying to enjoy it and be as good as I can. Right now I’m feeling like I don’t have too much pressure on me to win all the medals because I already got an Olympic gold so for my career, it’s my biggest achievement so far. Anything else that comes is a plus.”

Bettina Fabian - Hungary

Having carried her success as a junior into the senior ranks, Fabian admits that her first visit to Setúbal some three years ago came at a time when she considered stepping away from open water altogether. Now, the former world junior champion has six World Cup medals to her name, most recently taking silver and bronze in the 3km knockout and 10km at the previous stop, and says that Setúbal offers the perfect backdrop for learning.

On her growth in Setúbal:
“When I was here for the first time it was the European Junior Championships and I was about to stop open water swimming. But after I came here one year later, I got fourth at my third World Cup so I would say that I’m getting better year by year here and I’m starting to like this venue and this place more and more. I’m actually very excited for tomorrow and hope that I will achieve an even better result than two years ago.

“Tomorrow, there are specific girls who can reach the podium, and I really hope that I can be one of them. I won’t say names because all of the athletes are so good here.”

On the racing conditions:
“I’m excited for the conditions, it’s a very hard venue. I think this is the perfect place to teach people how to swim open water. I developed so much in the past few years by competing here so I’m just glad that I can race here every year and improve more and more during the years.

On looking ahead to Singapore:
“[This race] is the perfect time slot because we are weeks before the World Champs and this is the last race that we wanted to participate in. After this race, we are going to a training camp and just focus on the preparation for the World Champs so that we can perform our best there.”

Dario Verani - Italy

Fresh from his silver medal-winning performance in the 10km at the Ibiza leg of the World Cup, Verani is gearing up for a challenging weekend of racing; one that will also mark his debut in the 3km knockout sprint event this Sunday.

On racing in Setúbal:
“I feel good, I love this place and every year we come here so I’m very happy to do the race. It will be a hard race because there are waves and cold water so it will be a good challenge.”

On the Italian podium clean sweep in Ibiza:
“I felt good in Ibiza, I had a good race with my teammates Andrea and Giuseppe so I hope that here will be the same, but the race changes every time so we will see. My tactic is to stay on the group and then the last kilometre is a real race because the race pace is faster.”

On his 3km knockout sprint debut:
 “I will do it on Sunday for the first time because in Ibiza after the 10km I didn’t feel good. For this new race, it’s my first time and we will see the result but I hope it will be good. It’s a good way to change the sport because it's important that more swimmers from the swimming pool come to our sport so it will be a good challenge and a good race.”

Caroline Jouisse - France  

Open water veteran Jouisse has eight World Cup medals to her name, stretching back to the Lac St-Jean stop in 2019. Having come home sixth in the 10km event in Ibiza, she arrives in Setúbal with back-to-back racing under her belt, most recently doing the triple (10k, 5k, knockout) at the French Open Water Swimming Championships in Martigues last weekend.

On her preparation for this weekend:
“My preparation had a lot of ups and downs because I didn’t go to the Europeans, but then I did the triple last week in our championships, so I’m pretty happy about that; I didn’t expect to win the knockout so that’s pretty cool.

On Setúbal as a favourite:
“Coming here to Setúbal, I’m really happy about it because this is one of my favourite races. I know a lot of people hate it because there are waves and it’s cold and everything but I just love it. I always do good here so fingers crossed it’s going to happen again.

“The first time I ever competed here I finished sixth and that was my best result ever in a World Cup, so I always come in kind of confident because I did sixth, first and fourth. So I just have something special with this race, it’s always in my favour.”

On her unlikely love for knockout sprint:
“I mean, I love it to be honest, coming from the 25km I would not expect myself to like that kind of race but I think for the public and the people to watch it, it’s really good to see the swimmers actually coming out of the water, seeing our faces, it’s really good for the people.

“I tried one strategy in Ibiza that didn’t work out, I didn’t make it to the final. I did another strategy last week at Nationals, which has less people of course. I’m going to try something else again this week so we’ll see."

On back-to-back racing:
“I was tapered for last week, not too much but I’m still in good shape. I did some big kilometres this week so we’ll see how I react but I think it’s okay; I’ve always been good at doing races back to back to back. I always perform doing that so I know I need that. Having Nationals last week, the week before another competition in the week and this week Setúbal will be fine.

"I loved cold water when I started open water but the older I get, the less I like it. It’s still fine for a race, I can put it aside like if it’s too hot or too cold, I can try to focus on something else but if I had to choose between Setúbal or Singapore, that’s Setubal 100%."

Angela Martinez Guillen - Spain

21-year-old Martinez Guillen cemented herself as a serious contender over this distance in Ibiza where she took home gold in front of a home crowd. Despite it being her first time racing in Setúbal, the former European Junior silver medallist is hoping to emulate that performance.

On competing in Setúbal:
 “I’m very excited to compete here, it’s my first time and I hope to do the same like in Ibiza. I didn’t prepare especially for this competition so it will be a surprise for me.”

On her sprint finishes:
“That’s always my tactic, sometimes I do it better or worse and I hope it will be better this weekend. I will swim the 3km knockout sprint and for me it’s new, I hope I will learn in that race.”