By Will Baxley on SwimSwam
See all of our 2025 Swammy Awards here
Many sports have iconic performance markers that symbolize excellence. Gymnastics has a perfect 10, basketball has a triple-double, tennis has a grand slam. In a competition setting, open water swimming has no such widely recognized benchmark. This summer, though, open water titan Florian Wellbrock may have created one by going an unprecedented four-for-four World Championship gold medals in all of the sport’s events.
Wellbrock is no stranger to dominance. Prior to this year, the 28-year-old German already had an Olympic gold and seven World Titles to his name in both the pool and open water. In fact, he has been our Male Open Water Swammy winner every other year since 2019. However, he had never put together a string of open water races as perfectly as he did at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore.
The Bernd Berkhahn-trained talent started his meet off with open water’s hallmark event, the 10k. In that race, he fended off fellow Olympic gold medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri for his first win in 1:59:55.5 – a victory by over four seconds.
Two days later, Paltrinieri and Wellbrock locked horns again in the home stretch of the 5k race. Wellbrock once again prevailed, churning out a time of 57:26.4.
Up next, Wellbrock competed in the inaugural segmented 3k race. The German produced a wire-to-wire win, leading every segment and winning the final 500 race by one second in 5:46.0, fending off Hungary’s rising star David Betlehem.
Wellbrock showed up for his country as strongly as he showed up for himself in the 4×1500 relay event. Germany placed him on anchor, which meant he would once again be squaring off with Paltrinieri and Betlehem. He once again held his rivals off for a fourth gold in five days. Immediately following the race, Wellbrock received medical attention, citing the hot water conditions throughout all of his victorious races.
Beyond the five-day feat in Singapore, Wellbrock had several other head-turning swims throughout the year. First, he won the 10k of the Open Water World Cup’s first stop in Somabay, Egypt. In the pool, his highlights include a 14:36.25 to win a stacked field at Germany’s national championships followed by a 5th place finish in the event in Singapore. Wellbrock capped off his year with a bronze medal at the Short Course European Championships in the mile.
Ultimately, though, Wellbrock’s Swammy comes down to his open water performance in Singapore. In one of the deepest open water fields ever, Wellbrock pulled off a magnum opus performance after already being a leading figure in the sport for the better part of a decade. For years to come, athletes will point to Wellbrock’s four-for-four as a career goal and the pinnacle of success in the sport.
Honorable Mentions
David Betlehem (HUN) – Among a field of seasoned veterans in their primes, 21-year-old Betlehem had another strong year, keeping the titans on their toes. Betlehem’s highlights include two world championship medals – silver in the 3k knockout sprint and bronze in the team race. He also won three events throughout the Open Water World Cup series, which included a double 10k/3k win at the final stop in Italy. Betlehem was one of the most consistent performers in the World Cup and European Cup, showing up for nearly all of the events and placing high continuously. The Hungarian currently ranks at #1 in World Aquatics’ rankings, surpassing Wellbrock, who did not compete at many of this year’s World Cup stops. Bethlehem’s accomplishments shine against a backdrop of tumult with his home swimming federation. Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – A pool Olympic gold medalist, Paltrinieri showed he can do it all with his arguably most successful open water season to date. He reaped three silver medals, finishing behind Wellbrock in the 5k, 10k, and team race. His gold medal moment came at the European Championships, where he topped the 5k field. Logan Fontaine (FRA) – Though the 26-year-old Frenchman might not have had the World Championships he wanted, Fontaine’s stealthy consistency in the World Cup made him the surprise overall winner for the 2025 series. Fontaine’s 2025 medal haul includes five from the World Cup and three from the European Championships.Past Winners:
2024 – Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) 2023 – Florian Wellbrock (GER) 2022 – Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) 2021 – Florian Wellbrock (GER) 2020 – Marc-Antoine Olivier (FRA) 2019 – Florian Wellbrock (GER) 2018 – Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) 2017 – Ferry Weertman (NED) 2016 – Ferry Weertman (NED) 2015 – Jordan Wilimovsky (USA) 2014 – Ferry Weertman (NED) 2013 – Thomas Lurz (GER) 2012 – Ous Mellouli (TUN) (Co-Ed Award)
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