Mate Karpati restated Hungary’s strength in open water swimming in the first event of the Junior Open Water World Championships in Santa Fe, winning gold in what was an electric race to watch.

Karpati, who recently finished fourth at the European Junior Championships in Sukoró, Hungary, said his victory in Santa Fe felt like somewhat of a redemption race.

“I was a bit disappointed after the European Championships,” he said. “I really wanted to be on the podium that time.

“But I came with the vision that I want to be on the podium this time in the World Championships, and I wanted an individual medal from the World Championships also. So I'm really happy and really grateful.”

Karpati was part of the gold medal winning Mixed 4x1500m Relay team from the 2024 World Juniors in Alghero, and is also a former European Junior Champion in the 5km [2023].

Besting the rest of the field today shows that the future of Hungarian open water swimming, which is currently being spearheaded by David Betlehem on the men’s side, is in very good hands.

“I think Hungary has a really good junior team as well, and I think we can also be very good when we're going to be adults.”

Karpati came to the front of the race on the fifth lap after maintaining a top five position throughout.

Working alongside Parker and Aguiar to share the lead, he really put the hammer down in the second half of the fifth lap - establishing a body length lead and stringing out what had been a very tight pack up until that point.

After touching the pad five seconds clear of the rest of the field, he was understandably emotional at the end of the race; embracing his coach and soaking up the cheers from the crowd.

“I felt a lot of emotions - only great ones. I could see that I had made my family and my coaches really happy, so that also makes me really happy.

“I work for this every day, so I'm very happy that I could show what I'm capable of and what I can do out there.”

Karpati now turns his attention to the 3km Knockout Sprint and Relay events which he said he is ‘optimistic’ for and ‘hopes to medal’ in again.

Jacobs Storms to Silver

USA’s Colin Jacobs executed one of the best race finishes we’ve ever seen in Junior racing to earn himself silver in the 10km.

He charged down the final straight, gaining seven places in the process in what seemed to be unprecedented speed for the closing metres of a 10km race.

“I try to go into a lot of these races having a plan I want to stick to,” he said. “But it's open water, so anything can happen.

“My main goal was to be at the feet of the people in the lead pack and trust that in the last lap, if they were in sight, I would have the closing speed to compete for the podium.”

Jacobs bided his time perfectly, and even passed through the timing gate in 16th position after the fourth lap.

Conserving his energy paid off massively for the American, who prior to this race, had never won an international medal.

“My goal this entire race was to try to put myself on the podium. On the last lap I just said ‘you know what, there's no other time but now to go and chase them.

Jacobs is part of a performance group based in Antibes with renowned open water coach, Fred Vergnoux.

His training partner, Frenchman Ethan Parker, finished just outside the medals in fourth after a stellar performance; while on the women’s side, their teammate Manoli Cassar posted an excellent result to finish fifth. 

Speaking on his training group, Jacobs said: “I have incredible coaches and they’ve really created a high performance programme in open water and distance swimming.

“It's great to have two guys in the top five at a World Junior Champs. It's incredible the group that we have there now and it's awesome to train with them and compete with them every day.”

The energy and support within Team USA is clear to see, with Jacobs adding: “Team USA is the greatest team on earth. It's awesome to have these guys behind me and the support I get from the other athletes and the coaches is incredible.”

Aguiar’s Bronze for Brazil Marks First International Medal

Despite only recently moving to open water swimming, 19-year-old Aguiar etched his name into the history books today by winning his first ever international medal.

The Brazilian won bronze after an impressive race which saw him maintaining a spot in the lead pack throughout.

Speaking after the race, he extended thanks to those who have supported him so far in his career: “This race was very important because I had to prepare for a long time, build my stamina, and go with the front.

“It’s very important since I only started swimming in open water recently and moved cities alone to pursue this dream alone.

“I’d like to thank God, my family, and Clube Curitibano for their support and hospitality since I moved. I just want to thank everyone - in Brazil, we never give up. Let’s go!”

Like many of the athletes who raced in the 10km today, Aguiar will toe the startline of the 3km Knockout Spring event later in the week.

“I train every day for the 10km and the knockout," he said. “I do many speed practices, and it’s very similar to the knockout. I am very confident because I train for that too.”

Fast Wetsuit Racing in Cooler Water

A water temperature of 18.2 degrees dictated it would be a wetsuit race which, alongside it being a freshwater lake, would typically result in the pace being faster than a non-wetsuit swim.

Freshwater typically also means that some athletes may opt to not feed as often, which also contributes to the pace potentially being higher.

That was certainly the case for the 10km races today, and may be a theme we see continue throughout the week.