While Hungary's Kristof Rasovszky reached the top spot earlier this year thanks in part to his Olympic gold medal in the Seine at the Paris 2024 Games, it's his compatriot and training partner David Betlehem who now leads the Men's Open Water Swimming World Rankings.

Image Source: David Betlehem of Team Hungary and Kristof Rasovszky and David Betlehem of Hungary celebrate their gold and bronze medal performances after the Marathon Swimming Men's 10km at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

The Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist wrapped up a successful campaign in Singapore with a bronze medal in the inaugural Men's 3km Knockout Sprint, followed by a strong anchor leg in the Mixed 4x1500m Relay that brought Team Hungary home in second, just behind Germany. Betlehem had previously ranked fifth in the world in February.

Image Source: David Betlehem anchors Team Hungary in the open water Mixed 4x1500m Relay at the World Aquatics Championships -Singapore 2025 (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Leading Germany to that relay gold was a resurgent Florian Wellbrock. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion began his 2025 season with a World Cup victory in Somabay, Egypt, and carried that momentum into Singapore. There, the 27-year-old from Magdeburg swept the men’s open water events—winning gold in the 10km, 5km, and 3km Knockout Sprint—before anchoring Germany to another gold in the Mixed Relay.

Image Source: Florian Wellbrock celebrates going a perfect four-for-four after anchoring Team Germany to gold in the Mixed 4x1500m Relay in Singapore (Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics)

No open water swimmer—male or female—had previously captured four gold medals at a single World Aquatics Championships. With 10 world titles to his name, Wellbrock now turns his attention to the distance freestyle events in the pool. He also moved up five places in the rankings to sit at No. 5.

Image Source: Kyle Lee with his first individual global championship medal from the Men's 10km in Singapore, alongside Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri and Germany's Florian Wellbrock (Hiroyuki Nakamura/World Aquatics)

Also making headlines was Australia's Kyle Lee, who climbed nine spots to seventh in the world—making him the biggest mover in the top 10. Lee earned his first individual medal at a global championship with a bronze in the Men's 10km in Singapore.

France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, last year’s men's overall Open Water Swimming World Cup winner, remains a steady presence in the rankings. He secured bronze in both the Men's 5km and the 3km Knockout Sprint in Singapore, bringing his career world championship medal tally to two gold, two silver, and three bronze.

Image Source: Matheus Melecchi of Brazil competes on the 2024 World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Neom, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images)

Other notable risers include Brazil’s Matheus Melecchi, with the 20-year-old jumping 13 spots to No. 18, and Poland’s Piotr Wozniak, the 2023 Junior World silver medallist, with the 20-year-old climbing nine places to No. 15.

Latest Rankings List

Image Source: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Explore the full updated World Aquatics Men's Open Water Swimming World Rankings here.

Progression: Men's Open Water Rankings, from February to July 2025