The podium was far from decided during the race, which saw the race leader and top five positions rotate frequently throughout. Olivier was a constant in the lead pack and went out fast, posting the quickest first lap of the field to also win the sprint lap award.

Olivier (1:53:28.10) was joined on the podium by countrymate Sacha Velly (1:53:29.80), who matched his best ever World Cup finish with a silver in this event. A superb second-half of the race from Germany’s Oliver Klemet (1:53:33.60) secured him the final spot on the podium.

Image Source: Race winner Marc-Antoine Olivier, centre, was joined on the podium by Sacha Velly, left, and Oliver Klemet, right (World Aquatics)

Now 2025 series-lead, and overall World Cup series winner from 2024, Olivier said of the race: “I’m very happy because I’m in good shape, last week we had qualification at the French National Championships for the World Championships so I tried to keep my swim on plan today - I’m very happy to win this award.”

With the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore fast approaching, the versatile Frenchmen admits he has one eye on the pool, saying:

“Now, I need to have a good recovery because next week I have the French Championships to qualify for the pool so I need to swim well in the pool and after we will see what happens at the World Championships in Open Water.” 

Bronze-medal winner Klemet, who has taken a break from an altitude camp to race this weekend, admits he had a slower-than-planned start to the race. “My coach told me to start strong,” he said. “But I slept a bit at the start and then worked my way back to the top”.

The Olympic silver medallist did just that, working his way through the pack in the latter five kilometres to secure his seventh Open Water World Cup medal.

Three-time World Championship medallist and current second-ranked open water athlete in the world, Logan Fontaine, was the fourth athlete home (1:53:35.20) in what was a tightly packed finish, with the top six completed by Kristof Rasovsky (1:53:35.30) and Florian Wellbrock (1:53:36.50).

It was reigning 10km Olympic Champion, Rasovsky, his Hungarian teammate David Betlehem, and Tokyo’s Olympic champion in the same event, Wellbrock, that commanded the majority of the race, showcasing their experience and unwavering strength over this distance.

The calm conditions of the race start played to the German’s favour, and he led or was in the top five until the final strait. An uplift in the wind soon made the waves choppier on the far side of the course, offering the Hungarian veteran a chance to make a break.

Image Source: There were calm conditions at the start of the Men's 10km race (World Aquatics)

In the midst of the fourth lap, Rasovsky’s stroke rate spiked as he put the burners on to move into first place. Using the conditions to his advantage, which he and teammate Betlehem have trained specifically for, he made a marked change in pace at this point in the race.

Silver medallist Velly matched this effort in the fifth lap, charging to the front of the race and showing his intent to his competitors.

"It was a good race today. It’s my best place in a World Cup so I’m very happy"
By Sacha Velly

"[Finishing hard] wasn’t the plan but it was a good finish, a strong finish and it’s good training for the rest of the season," Velly said.

In what was a chaotic final lap, countrymates Olivier and Sacha Velly both surged to the front of the pack. With almost 10 minutes left to race, the outcome was far from decided at this point, but a strong showing from the Frenchmen, who followed a different line into the finish than the rest of the pack, provided an exciting finish on the Portuguese coast.

The Setúbal stop of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup will continue next with the highly anticipated Women’s 10km today, which kicks off at 17:00 local time, followed by the 3km knockout sprints tomorrow.