David Betlehem bested the 99-strong field to secure his second ever 10km World Cup title in Ibiza, delivering a gutsy performance in tough conditions to take gold ahead of Sacha Velly and  Andrea Filadelli.

The Hungarian is fresh off a double silver haul from the first stop in Somabay, and was a firm feature in the lead pack throughout the race. Having started the race strong by taking the sprint lap win, Betlehem said: “I’m very happy with this win. It’s my second individual World Cup victory after Golfo Aranci last year, so to do it again here means a lot.

“The biggest difference for me this time was handling the cold. Last year, I really struggled and even froze up during the race, but today I felt much better. I don’t know exactly what changed - maybe I adapted, maybe it’s physical - but I was comfortable in the water.”

Large and frequent waves presented a challenge for every athlete in the water; something which forced different tactics throughout the race.

“In the race, I tried to stay on one of the sides of the pack rather than in the middle. With the big waves, it was chaotic at times, so being on the outside helped me stay aware and control my position.

“These conditions made drafting less effective. You couldn’t really relax at any point - you had to keep pushing the whole time because of the chop. It became a race of strength and consistency. By the third lap, I could already feel it in my arms, so it was about maintaining the effort all the way through.”

Betlehem did exactly that, maintaining a strong position despite moving out of the top three in the middle of the race. His back-end speed stood to him in the closing stages, as he explained: “On the final lap, I moved up from around fifth or sixth into the lead. I knew I had about 600 metres to go, so it was just about committing and going for the win.”

Filadelli Finds Podium Again in Ibiza, Velly Equals Best Result

France’s Sacha Velly equalled his best World Cup result with silver today, touching just five seconds behind Betlehem in what became a battle for the remaining podium positions.

Velly was closely followed by Andrea Filadelli, both of whom had extremely strong closing speed to regain positions within the pack. For Velly, this result marks his seventh World Cup medal, while Filadelli holds four.

Filadelli - who was the gold medal winner in Ibiza last year and led an all-Italian podium in 2025 - said of his result: “It’s my second medal here in Ibiza, so this place is becoming very special for me. It’s also an important result for the Italian team - we had a strong performance overall.

“We have a very strong group in Italy right now, and it showed today with multiple swimmers finishing in the top 10. It’s great to see the team performing at this level.

Italian athletes made up four of the top ten athletes, with Marcello Guidi, Pasquale Giordano and Ivan Giovannoni finishing in fourth, fifth and seventh respectively.

Speaking on the conditions and how this race sets him up for the season, Filadelli said: “The conditions were tough, with cold water and big waves, but I actually enjoyed that. It suits me, even if it’s not ideal for everyone.

“This race is a good confirmation for me as we look ahead to the rest of the season and the qualification period for major championships. For tomorrow’s knockout sprint, it’s not really my main event, but I’ll do my best and try to deliver a good race.”

Velly took the reins of the race in the fifth lap, moving into first position over open water veteran Gregorio Paltrinieri, who held the lead for the first half of the race.

Speaking on his approach to the race, Velly said: “I had a controlled start and felt good in the water from the beginning. By the end of the fifth lap, I had moved to the front and still felt strong, so I decided to go all-in from there.

“Today’s result is a combination of both tactics and physical preparation. I had a very good altitude training camp, and the plan was to stay patient early and move up in the final laps. I was able to execute that strategy well, so I’m happy with the outcome.”

Despite not featuring in tomorrow’s 3km Knockout Sprint event, Velly plans to use his back-end speed in some upcoming pool races, adding: “My focus is on the pool events at the European Championships, particularly the 800m and 1500m, and I want to conserve energy for the 5km.”

The remaining top ten results were filled by Marc-Antoine Olivier, Kristof Rasovszky, Dylan Gravley, and Victor Moreno - with Gravley and Moreno delivering career-best performances to finish in ninth and tenth, respectively.

Action will continue in Ibiza tomorrow with the 3km Knockout Sprint events, with the Women’s race starting at 9:00am local time and the Men’s edition following at 11:00am.