Hungary’s David Betlehem became the Overall World Cup Leader in spectacular fashion in Portugal; an achievement which he says he has been ‘dreaming of’ for some time.
With everything to play for ahead of the final stop of the 2026 World Aquatics Open Water World Cup, Betlehem knew that only victory in the Men’s 10km would put the Overall Leader trophy firmly in his hands.
When it mattered most, the 22-year-old executed a race worthy of gold, and credited his mental strength and exhaustive preparation for his win on the day.
“I was very emotional after it [the race], it was very tough mentally. But I’ve been preparing for this moment and in the last lap I knew I needed to win it; it’s the only way I could win the overall title.
“So yes, it was mentally very hard but I knew that if I prepared myself every day in training, I could do it.”
It was a photo-finish in the Men’s 10km, with the top five finishers all within touching distance of medals down the final straight.
Betlehem’s decision to take his own line and move away from the pack down the closing metres ultimately proved to be the right route to take, and saw him touch 0.2 seconds ahead of silver and bronze medal winners, Sacha Velly and Marc-Antoine Olivier.
‘Dreamt of this Moment’
“I’ve dreamt of it,” said Betlehem after the race. “Dreamt of holding the trophy. I was brave enough to speak it out, to say that was my goal. So I knew that if I had the courage to speak it out loud, that's 50% of the way there.”
Something that makes his performance in Setúbal even more impressive is the fact that Betlehem had his poorest performance of the season at the previous stop in Golfo Aranci, where he finished 18th in the 10km.
Despite his disappointment after that race, he took that feeling and turned it into a positive, and said he actually preferred being lower in the rankings as opposed to being chased.
“After I had this negative race in Golfo Aranci, I’m very happy that I was able to go home, train, and be able to win here.
"There was a lot of pressure on me, I put it on myself. I knew that I needed to be very tough in my head to not think about any negativity and just go and race"
“I was also a little bit happy that I wasn’t first in the overall before this race. I think that’s the game of the mind, especially because I knew that this wouldn't be my favourite conditions. It wouldn’t be hot or clear water, and it would be colder and colder every lap.
“But I know that I’ve put the work in, so I'm very happy because a lot of races this year were in cold water, and the Olympics is going to be the same.
“It was the perfect day, I’ve prepared for this for a long time. So I'm very happy that I've proven to myself that I'm able to do it.”
Betlehem’s overall win is the culmination of the momentum he’s been building on the open water circuit over the last number of years.
The 2024 Olympic silver medallist won his first World Cup medal (bronze) in 2022, and has been a regular feature on the podium ever since.
He closed out the 2026 season with a total of six medals, two silver (one individual, one relay) and four gold (individual), resulting in a total of 2430 points.
The podium in Setúbal mirrored the overall ranking results, with Velly second with 2360 points and Olivier third with 2300 points.
How The 2026 World Cup Season Played Out
From the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, here we take a look at the results and storylines of the men’s 2026 open water season.
World Cup Stop 1 - Somabay, Egypt - 27-28 March
It was Florian Wellbrock who took out the season opener in Egypt, winning gold in the Men’s 10km to restate his fine form from the 2025 season.
The 28-year-old German retained his title from the 2025 stop in Somabay, and added the sprint lap win this time around. David Betlehem, who would eventually become Overall Leader for 2026, took silver, while bronze went to Domenico Acarenza of Italy.
Low winds offered flat water to the men’s field in Somabay; something which Wellbrock favours over choppier conditions. Speaking after the race, he said: “It's a part of our sport to deal with different conditions, and I like the sun, warm and flat water. It was perfect conditions for me today.”
Having described the race as ‘stronger than a World Championships or Olympics’ due to the stacked field of athletes, Hungary’s Betlehem secured his 12th World Cup medal behind Wellbrock; something he manifested the day before the race.
Speaking to World Aquatics the day before the event, Betlehem had his eyes set on a medal. Despite experiencing stomach issues in the days leading up to the race, the 22-year-old performed when it mattered, adding: “I want to compete when I'm ill, when I'm in bad shape, when I'm in good shape, so when a big competition comes, I know what to do.”
For bronze medallist Acarenza, his result in Somabay marked what he described as his ‘real comeback’ to the sport.
Having taken an extended break due to a shoulder injury, coupled with the birth of his daughter, Silvia, Acarenza’s result in Egypt was more significant than the medal alone.
“This is my real comeback, so I'm very, very happy,” he said. “This is for all my team. I just want to say thank you to them all. A lot of things have happened in the last year, and one of the most important is my child, my daughter Silvia - this is also for her.”
World Cup Stop 2 - Ibiza, Spain - 24-25 April
David Betlehem bested the 99-strong field in what would become the toughest racing conditions we would see all season.
Racing in large waves and choppy waters, the Hungarian delivered a gutsy performance to win his second-ever 10km World Cup gold ahead of Sacha Velly and Andrea Filadelli.
Having followed up his silver-medal win from the first stop, Betlehem maintained a lead-pack position throughout the duration of the race.
His sprint-strength stood to him in the closing metres where he put on the burners down the final straight to break free from the rest of the field.
Touching five seconds behind was Frenchman Velly, who equalled what was - at the time - his best result in an individual World Cup event.
Italy’s Filadelli - who was the gold medal winner in Ibiza last year and led an all-Italian podium in 2025 - was third overall in what was another strong showing from his nation. Italian athletes made up four of the top ten, with Marcello Guidi, Pasquale Giordano and Ivan Giovannoni finishing in fourth, fifth and seventh respectively.
World Cup Stop 3 - Golfo Aranci, Sardinia - 1-2 May
Victory on the third stop of the tour belonged to Sacha Velly, who executed a perfect race to win his first-ever 10km World Cup title.
He led a French 1-2 consisting of him and teammate Marc-Antoine Olivier, who finished ahead of bronze medallist Andrea Filadelli.
The leaders changed constantly throughout the race, with Olympic medallists Kristof Rasovszky, Oliver Klemet, and Gregorio Paltrinieri holding the lead for the majority of the six laps.
It wasn’t until the third lap that Velly moved his way to the top three, though he explained post-race that this was his tactic all along: “The plan was to avoid overexerting myself at the start and then make a move at the end, and really focus on the buoys because there were a lot of places to gain. The goal was to go all out in the final kilometre.”
It was an extremely close finish in the end with just a second separating the top three finishers. Olivier, who was 0.2 seconds behind Velly, earned his 23rd World Cup medal.
For Filadelli, he followed up his bronze medal win from the previous stop in Ibiza with another on home soil, something which he said was very ‘special’: “The Italian team is very good and there are many very strong athletes. Today my dad and my mom are here so it's very special.”
World Cup Stop 4 - Setúbal, Portugal - 20-21 June
There was everything to play for ahead of the final stop in Setúbal as, unlike the women’s side, the expected result of the Men’s Overall Rankings was far from clear.
On a day which demanded the perfect race, it was David Betlehem who delivered just that. A photo finish saw him touch home first for gold, and secured him the Overall World Cup Leader trophy for the first time in his career.
Stellar performances from Frenchman Sacha Velly and Marc-Antoine Olivier rounded out the final podium of the 2026 World Cup season, while Kristof Rasovszky delivered his best performance of the year to finish just outside the medals in fourth.
Speaking after what was one of the best battles of the season, winner Betlehem said: “It was very tough mentally; I know the only way I could win the overall was to win the race.
“But I also knew that I had prepared myself every day in training to win it.”
With a change in current offering a very fast course, it was reigning World Champion Florian Wellbrock who won the sprint lap.
The lead throughout the mid-laps was held largely by Betlehem’s Hungarian teammate Rasovszky. Having worked together throughout the race, it came down to individual efforts on the final lap; one that saw Betlehem and Velly taking a completely different line into the finish shoot.
Speaking after the race, Velly said: “It's been a very good season, I'm very happy to have achieved three consecutive podium finishes. It's the first year I've had this many podiums, so it shows that I've been consistent.”
As one of the strongest open water nations, the strength of Team France was on full display at the final stop.
Commenting on this, bronze medallist Olivier said: “A new generation is emerging... That's why I love continuing to swim. I had a great race with David, and Ethan was there with me too. I'm very happy to keep pushing and to find a way to win another medal this year."
Ethan Parker Tops Junior Rankings
France’s Ethan Parker was Men’s Junior Overall Leader for the 2026 season, capping off his World Cup tour with 3200 points.
Though he had a firm hold of the Junior rankings ahead of the final stop, he said before the competition that his goal was to compete with the ‘big guys’, and he did exactly that.
Not only did Parker win the overall title, but he did so in impressive fashion; finishing ninth to claim his best individual 10km World Cup finish to date.
“It’s very special,” he said. “My goal this year was to fight with the big guys and get a lot of experience.
“I’m happy to do my best race in the last race. I finished ninth today, so I'm really happy to finish in the top ten. I'm not a junior anymore next year so we’ll see how the season goes.”
Parker raced at all four of the World Cup stops this year, with his best result overall coming in the 3km Knockout Sprint in Golfo Aranci where he finished eighth.