David Betlehem had already featured on the podium on the second day of competition after winning bronze with Team Hungary in the morning’s relay. The afternoon brought the final event of this year’s World Cup series, one that the 22-year-old says ‘he enjoyed every moment of’."

“It was fun, I enjoyed every moment of it. The 1000m was good, I felt pretty fast and strong, but in the 500m I felt a bit tired because my arms were hurting a bit. But then, I was happy because on the third turn, I was in the right spot - everybody was fighting on my feet, so I had a little bit of time to rest, and I sprinted the last 100m. I'm really happy with the double. Now I’ll go home, keep training, so we can see what I can do next year.”

Betlehem - who also won this event at the previous stop in Portugal - was dominant throughout the race, leading from the front which ultimately saw him win both the semifinal and final back-to-back.

Looking ahead to plans for the rest of this year and beyond, the Olympic bronze medallist added: “I have short course nationals and maybe if I swim well, I will go to the short course Europeans. But I'm not sure because I wanna rest a bit and be ready for 2026 and 2027, because our big goal is 2028.

“Until then, I want to train as much as possible, and race as much as possible, but not do too much. In the past four weeks, I’ve had three races and this one was a very hard one, with three races in two days. Now I just want to have a longer break, and after that I just want to start training again.”

Olivier Powers Through Rounds to Silver in 3km Knockout

France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier delivered another standout performance to win silver - taking his World Cup medal haul to a staggering 21.

“It was a really tough race,” Olivier said after the race. “The first 1500 was all about managing the pace and making it through to the next round. After that, I started to feel better and better.”

Having gained valuable experience in the knockout format this season, the 2024 overall World Cup Leader explained how he felt prepared tactically coming into the race.

“The experience from swimming in the knockout for the first time was very useful today. I was very happy with the strategy. I wanted to try to get into the 500m with as much energy as possible and that's what I did. So I’m pretty proud of the way I carried out the strategy here, and very happy to finish with a silver medal after this tough weekend.”

Olivier finished second overall in the World Cup Leader rankings after what he explained was a disappointing 10km for him on day one of competition. “I’m not that fit yet to be very competitive in the 10km, so yesterday was very difficult. I gave everything because I was also fighting for the general ranking.”

Olivier has been one of the most consistent open water athletes over the last number of years, and said that this season - which also saw him win two bronze medals at the World Championships - is ‘one of his best ever’.

“This has been one of my most successful seasons ever. I’ve been winning medals since 2015 and have a lot of medals from the World Cup, and at the World Championships. So I’m really, really happy with this season overall.

“Of course, I was looking to get the overall win again, but it's also a good motivation to step back, step in for the next season and then for sure give everything and win again.

Eyes on Los Angeles and the next Olympic cycle

With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games behind them, the French team is already focused on what lies ahead; a new Olympic cycle culminating in Los Angeles 2028.

“France has been one of the top nations in open water for many years. Unfortunately, we didn't compete as we wanted to in Paris but the ultimate goal is the Olympics. The main thing is to be successful in LA and this is part of the preparation.

“The World Cup and the Europeans next year in Paris, which is very important for us and then it will be a world year with the qualification for the Olympics already, so there's no time to waste.”

Three Races, Three Medals for Logan Fontaine

Frenchman Logan Fontaine was on the podium for a third time this weekend after claiming bronze in the knockout event.

The 26-year-old, who became Men’s overall World Cup Leader following his performance in the 10km, said: “I honestly was not expecting anything from this because I was really tired before the race.

“But round after round, I tried to manage myself to push myself. Yeah. I didn't have so much energy and I felt really tired, so I didn't want to fight for my position in the pack. So, the best solution for me was to manage myself, to be in front of the pack and swimming like I want to. So I can control who passed me and where I am, and that's what happened, and the strategy was really good.”

Fontaine had an extremely successful run in Golfo Aranci, featuring on the podium in every single event this weekend. He commented : “I love these conditions where the sun is perfect, the water is so clear, and even when it was raining here yesterday, I loved it.”

France Closes Sardinia Stop with Gold in Mixed Relay

Team France ended their World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup season on a high in Golfo Aranci, claiming gold in the Mixed 4×1500m Relay.

The French quartet of Logan Fontaine, Sacha Velly, Caroline Jouisse, and Clemence Coccordano surged to the top of the podium, capping off an intense weekend of racing.

They were closely followed by host nation Italy, the team featuring Dario Verani, Ginevra Taddeucci, Linda Caponi, and Marcello Guidi, who delighted home fans with a silver medal performance.

Hungary rounded out the podium in third, fielding a strong team of Kristof Rasovszky, David Betlehem, Viktor Mihalyvari-Farkas, and Napsugár Nagy.