Open Water World Cup Golfo Aranci Preview – Can Johnson 3peat? Who Will Make USA’s Pan Pac Team? ...Middle East

By Will Baxley on SwimSwam

2026 Open Water World Cup – Stop 3

We have arrived at the third stop of 2026’s Open Water World Cup. This marks the biggest stop yet event-wise, with five sets medals on the line in the men’s and women’s 10k and 3k knockout sprint as well as the mixed 4×1500 relay. Most swimmers will be racing on back-to-back weekends, as stop two in Ibiza just concluded last Saturday. There, Aussie Moesha Johnson swept the women’s events and 3peated the 10k, while Hungarian David Betlehem doubled up on the gentleman’s side. This success, combined with their overall #1 in the world rankings, makes them gold favorites again. Apart from these two stars, here are some other stories to follow throughout the weekend.

Can Italy Strike Gold?

When it comes to depth, Italy leads the world in open water swimming, particularly on the men’s side. For example, the nation accounted for six of the top ten men in the 10k on the first stop of the world cup. However, the nation has yet to stand on top of the podium this year. Could the stars align for them on home soil?

On the men’s side, there are several men who could do so. Last weekend, Gregorio Paltrinieri took silver in the men’s 3k knockout, while Andrea Filadelli grabbed bronze in the 10k. Just behind Filadelli were fellow Italian nationals Marcello Guidi and Pasquale Giordano, who could also be in the mix. Open water’s kingpin Florian Wellbrock will not compete this week, making the odds of an Italy gold that much more likely. With him gone, Betlehem seems like the biggest obstacle to overcome.

Italy’s best bet on the women’s side comes from Ginevra Taddeucci, who is the #2 ranked woman in the world right now and a constant podium finisher in the World Cup. To get a gold, she’d have to bypass a red-hot Moesha Johnson, who is undefeated this year so far and won the stop one’s 10k by 48 seconds. She’d also have to fend off stars like Ichika Kajimoto and Maria de Valdes, who both medalled last weekend.

Given Italy’s depth and top-end talent in both genders, the country is a contender for the 4×1500 mixed relay. This is perhaps their best shot at gold, especially given that stop one winner Germany won’t have enough athletes for a relay.

America Finalizes Its Pan Pac Roster

This weekend will mark the final of three events that determine the U.S.’ four-per-gender-strong roster of open water swimmers for the Pan Pacific Championships this summer on home soil. See our full breakdown here, but this is what the standings look like purely based on ranks. USA Swimming will use a more complex formula to determine the top four.

Women

Men

Though she’s not in the cards for a Pan Pac berth, be on the lookout for Bella Sims in the 3k knockout. She placed 11th in the event last weekend in what was her first international open water race in several years and first ever 3k. Other Olympic pool medallists popping into open water for the first time in a while include Germany’s Isabel Gose and Italy’s Gabriele Detti.

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