While Japan's Ichika Kajimoto was the biggest mover in the top-10 World Aquatics Open Water World Rankings, jumping 17 spots following her gold and bronze at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore to now sit in 7th position, it is Australia's Moesha Johnson who now reigns supreme as the world's new No.1.
In February, World Aquatics launched its Open Water Swimming World Ranking system for the first time. Following a fourth in the Paris 2024 Olympics and overall series win in the 2024 Open Water Swimming World Cup, Brazil's Ana Marcela Cunha topped those inaugural rankings. While the seven-time world champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist has been steady in 2025 and now sits No.3 in the rankings, this year has been largely dominated by two women: the aforementioned Moesha Johnson and Italy's Ginevra Taddeucci.
Johnson punctuated the start of the 2025 Worlds by taking gold in both the Women's 10km and 5km individual races. Following immediately behind in these two races, literally and figuratively, was Taddeucci After two silvers in the Women's 10km and 5km, the 28-year-old Florence native followed this with two more silver medals in the Women's 3km Knockout Sprint and the Mixed 4x1500m Relay to conclude the open water portion of the World Aquatics Championships - Singapore 2025 with four silver medals.
While Johnson won her first individual World title and Taddeucci earned her first individual medal at the Worlds, perhaps the biggest breakout performer this past week in Singapore was Ichika Kajimoto. First, the 21-year-old was eighth in the Women's 10km, then she took bronze in the Women's 5km.
Then, in the Women's 3km Knockout Sprint, Kajimoto lost her cap but kept her cool, timing her final drive to the finish to perfection. Coming into the finish chute, the Universiade 400m medley gold medallist from Chengdu 2023 moved right and found open water, passing Johnson and Taddeucci, as well as Hungary's Bettina Fabian and Germany's Isabel Gose in the process.
Kajimoto's recent rise in the world rankings was also aided by her performances on the 2025 Open Water Swimming World Cup, where she first finished third in the 3km Knockout Sprint in Ibiza, Spain, in April, before winning this event on the World Cup in June in Setubal, Portugal.
Other top movers in the Women's World Rankings were Lisa Pou of Monaco, who moved up ten spots to hold the world No.4 ranking currently. Former world No. 18, Maria de Valdes of Spain, jumped up 13 spots to now occupy the World No.5 ranking, while Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas of Hungary was the highest riser in the Women's global top-20 rankings, moving up 34 spots, from 52nd to now sits 18th in the rankings.
Latest Rankings List
You can find the latest World Aquatics Open Water Rankings for Women here.