The overall European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup 2026 winners will be decided in Barcelona on Saturday 3 October, with Italy’s Dario Verani and Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz arriving as the series leaders, on 1600 and 1500 points respectively following successive podium finishes in the previous rounds in Tenero and Razanac.
Verani heads the men’s standings ahead of Poland’s Bartosz Kapala and Estonia’s Jaan Pasko, while Tarasiewicz leads Finland’s Louna Kasvio and Germany’s Fabienne Wenske among the women. All six athletes will be wanting to continue their impressive runs with podium finishes and a chance at taking the overall crown once the race concludes.
The racing takes place over four laps of a 2.5km course, with nine buoys for the athletes to navigate, which creates some unique passing sections and a sure-fire entertaining race for the spectators in the Spanish city.
Verani has won both completed legs, earning 800 points each time, and sits on 1,600 points. The 31-year-old took the Tenero opener by holding back and kicking on down the final lap, then repeated the feat in Razanac, where he was up to fourth with one lap to go before passing the leader in the final ten metres to win by 0.14 seconds. “I’ll try to do my best and we’ll see in Barcelona,” he said after the race.
Kapala is second on 1,250 points after silver in Tenero, 6.52 seconds behind Verani, and a top-five finish in Razanac. Pasko is third on 1,200, having taken bronze at both stops, a run of consistency that keeps the 20-year-old within reach of the lead. Filadelli, the Razanac silver medallist, and Dalu, who missed out on a Tenero medal by nine-hundredths of a second, are also entered, alongside Germany’s Diego Alfons Heinze, who was fifth in Tenero.
The women’s title is much tighter. Tarasiewicz, 22, was second in Tenero before winning in Razanac, and leads on 1,500 points. Kasvio, 20, won her first senior international medal with victory in Tenero, beating Tarasiewicz by 0.06 seconds, but slipped to fourth in Razanac and sits 150 points back on 1,350. The pair know each other’s racing well, with Kasvio saying after Tenero that she has trained with Tarasiewicz a great deal this season.
Wenske is a further 100 points behind on 1,250, having followed fourth in Tenero with silver in Razanac, and Germany has strength in depth. Julia Ackermann took bronze in Razanac, while Luisa Rumler was fifth in Tenero after leading at the two-thirds mark. Italy’s Iris Menchini, third in Tenero, is also in the field, as is Estonia’s Kirke Motsnik, who finished sixth.
Hungary’s David Betlehem and Bettina Fabian will also line up for the Barcelona leg, after both being disqualified in Razanac. They will be looking to bounce back with podium finishes to close out the series.
They are joined by Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas, who won silver in both the 5km and 10km in Paris and will race for the first time since the European Championships, and Mate Karpati, the recently crowned junior world champion over 10km.
The hosts Spain field an extensive list of 16 athletes, which is second only to a strong Italian team in terms of size. Swimmers such as Maria De Valdes Alvarez and Paula Otero Fernandez will lead their hopes.
Neutral Athletes B also field a strong contingent. Ekaterina Sorokina finished inside the top eight in all four events at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, and will provide stiff competition to the front-runners.
Monaco’s Lisa Pou, who won last year’s title, will also go in with a solid chance at a medal.
The men’s race starts at 12:00 CEST on Saturday 3 October, with the women following at 12:05 CEST.
An 800m race for Special Olympics athletes will also take place on the same day, beginning at 10:30am.
The entry list is below.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
