Bettina Fabian secured 30.51% of the total vote, edging Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci (28.69%), following a breakthrough season at both world and continental levels.

In 2025, the 21-year-old excelled in the new knockout sprint formats, establishing herself as a leader as the open water swimming landscape evolved.

Image Source: Silver medallist Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy, Gold medallist Ichika Kajimoto of Japan and joint Bronze medallists Moesha Johnson of Australia and Bettina Fábian of Hungary at the medal ceremony for the Women's 3km Knockout Sprint Final in Singapore (Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Fabian claimed joint bronze in the 3km knockout sprint and bronze in the team event, underlining her growing consistency on the sport’s biggest stage and her emergence within Hungary’s strong open water programme.

Her continental success was even more pronounced. Fabian won gold medals in the 3km knockout sprint and team event at the European Aquatics Championships, confirming her status as a leading specialist in shorter open water formats and her ability to capitalise on the expanded programme.

Image Source: Bettina Fabian watches the photo finish replay of the 3km Knockout Sprint Final from the 2025 Worlds in Singapore (Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics)

Fabian’s 2025 results showed that adaptability and tactical sharpness—not just performance over longer distances—were key to her award-winning year.

Image Source: Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy racing to the win at the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 2025 Final in Golfo Aranci, Italy (Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images)

Runner-up Taddeucci established herself as a consistent top performer, securing four silver medals at the World Aquatics Championships (3km knockout sprint, 5km, 10km, and team event). She claimed the European 5km title, added silvers in the team event and 10km, and won the overall World Aquatics Open Water Cup standings, finishing just behind Fabian in the voting.

Image Source: Bronze medallist Lisa Pou of Monaco is congratulated by Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil after the Women's 10k Open Water Final at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Lisa Pou of Monaco finished third, earning world bronze in the 10km and winning the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup, a testament to her championship performance and season-long consistency.

Image Source: Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas of Hungary readies herself for her leg of the Mixed 4x1500m Open Water Final at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore (Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics)

Viktoria Mihályvári-Farkas finished fourth after winning world bronze in the team event and two European golds, affirming her growing strength in long-distance events.

Image Source: Klaudia Tarasiewicz of Poland competes in the Women's 5km Open Water Final at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz completed the shortlist after a dominant year, winning three European Cup legs and the World Cup final leg.