The European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup 2026 finally got off the mark in Tenero with Italy’s Dario Verani executed a perfect race plan and Finland’s Louna Kasvio took a memorable photo-finish victory to take the honours in the respective men’s and women’s races a gruelling six-lap, 10km course in the Swiss village.
The stop in Tenero effectively became the season opener after the scheduled first leg in Protaras was cancelled, meaning the waters saw the 32 men and 31 women begin their campaigns for the series, that will see two more stops in Razanac and Barcelona over the next four weeks before an overall champion is crowned.
It could hardly have been closer at the front of the men’s race, with the top ten finishing within just 14.53 seconds of one another after nearly two hours of racing. Dario Verani held his nerve after a series of close battles throughout the race to take the win in 1:47:19.51, having been inside the top four at every checkpoint before he kicked on down the final lap and dropped the rest of the field.
Poland’s Bartosz Kapala pushed him closest, finishing just 6.52 seconds back in second, with Estonia’s Jaan Pasko completing the podium a further 1.68 seconds behind in third. Fellow Italian Fabio Dalu, who took the lead at the halfway stage of the race, ultimately had to settle for fourth, edged out by a wafer-thin nine-hundredths of a second as they came into the funnel and touched the pads.
Germany’s Diego Alfons Heinze rounded out the top five, while home hero Paul Niederberger put in a spirited performance to finish as the leading Swiss athlete in sixth. His compatriot Christian Schreiber followed in seventh, with France’s Emile Mesmacque, Germany’s Mika Kovacs and Lukas Steuter completing the top ten in a bunch finish that summed up the closeness of the racing all the way through the field.
Verani has already taken a number of medals at international level, with the 31-year-old’s recent bronze medal as a guest at the Pan Pacific Championships in Los Angeles serving as good preparation in what will be the venue for the Olympic Games in 2028.
“Today was a perfect day because the water was totally flat and the water temperature was perfect,” said Verani after the race.
“I’m happy to do the race in this condition and it’s a good way to start the new season.
“My tactic was to stay back and improve my speed down the final lap, and I’m glad it paid off.”
The women’s race told a similar story at the sharp end, with barely a body length separating the leaders after 10km of racing. 20-year-old Louna Kasvio got the better of a five-strong lead pack to claim victory in 1:56:01.51, but Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz gave her a real scare, missing out on the win by just 0.06 seconds in what ultimately came down to who timed their stroke better.
Italy’s Iris Menchini took third, 8.58 seconds down, while Germany enjoyed a strong day out with Fabienne Wenske and Luisa Rumler filling fourth and fifth respectively. Rumler had led the field as the race reached two-thirds of the way through before fading slightly over the closing stages.
Behind that leading quintet, the race opened up considerably. Estonia’s Kirke Motsnik came home sixth, more than five minutes down on the winner, ahead of Ukraine’s Mariia Yepifanova in seventh. The trio of Swiss swimmers Emma Fredersdorf, Cherelle Oestringer and Nina Mani rounded out the top ten, giving the home nation representation throughout the finishing order in both races.
The result is the Finn’s first ever senior international medal in open water swimming, following an impressive eighth-place finish in the 10km event at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris and it puts her in pole position for the overall series title ahead of the remaining legs.
“It means a lot and I’m super happy with the whole race,” she said following her historic victory.
“It wasn’t really my plan to lead for about the whole 2 hours, but it was still nice and I think it’s a good experience to have this kind of race also. I’m super happy.
“it was definitely mentally a bit tough, but I think physically I knew I’m maybe in a better shape in this part of season because I didn’t have that much vacation. I’ve trained with Klaudia, who got second, a lot this season, so I know what she’s good at. I was believing in myself that I can still beat her at the end.”
With Protaras not materialising, Tenero has effectively set the tone for the 2026 Open Water Swimming Cup season. Attention now turns to Razanac in Croatia on 26 September for the next leg before the circuit concludes in Barcelona on 3 October to decide the champions following one of the busiest summers of open water swimming in recent memory.
Click here to access the full results from the competition.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
