Moesha Johnson Makes it 2 in 2 & Final-Lap Surge Propels David Betlehem to Victory in Ibiza
Moesha Johnson made it two wins in as many races and a surging final lap propelled David Betlehem to victory on the second leg of the Open Water Swimming World Cup in Ibiza.
The two-day event was set to feature a record number of athletes with 189 swimmers across 25 national federations taking on six laps of the course with the races taking place in cold waters.
Johnson enjoyed a thumping 48-second victory in the first leg in Somabay last month. The Australian, who won the 5/10k double among a three-strong haul in Singapore last year, is becoming a dominant force in open water.
Moesha Johnson: Photo Courtesy Adam Crane (Swimming Australia)
On Friday, the Olympic silver medallist struck out from the off with Ginevra Taddeucci for company and at halfway Johnson held a 1.5sec lead over the Italian. While Johnson extended the lead, the pack was jostling with Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas moving to within 3.3secs of the leader going into the final lap.
Johnson maintained her lead to take the win in 1:58:51.30 ahead of Angela Martinez Guillen whose final-lap surged propelled her to second in 1:58:56.30 with Mihályvári-Farkas third in 1:59.01.30.
Lisa Pou was fourth followed by Klaudia Tarasiewicz and Taddeucci who finished more than 50 seconds adrift of Johnson.
Johnson said through World Aquatics: “It was a really challenging race to approach because there were so many unknowns. We trained on the course yesterday and it was completely different today—the course changed late, the conditions kept shifting, and we went in with almost no idea of what to expect.
“The first laps were about figuring things out—where to sight, where the buoys were, how the race was unfolding. But with the cold, the priority quickly became just to keep moving and stay warm. Honestly, my first goal was simply to finish the race. I didn’t want an incomplete swim, so everything I did was focused on getting to the end.
“The wetsuit decision is always tough around that 18-degree mark. It’s such a fine margin, and it really depends where the temperature is taken. Wetsuits tend to keep the field more compact, whereas without them you can stretch things out more. But today, the biggest factor was dealing with the cold—mentally and physically.
“That’s why I pushed the pace more than usual. In cold water, your heart rate drops, so I was trying to keep it high to stay warm. I was really racing the conditions first, and then thinking about tactics second. I’ve done a lot of racing recently, including in the pool, and that’s given me confidence. The pool is very honest feedback on where your form is, and coming in here I felt fit and knew I had some speed.
“This season is a bit different without a World Championships or Olympics, so for me it’s about building a strong base and continuing to develop in both pool and open water. I still feel like I have more to give in both.”
Betlehem Surges Through For Gold
David Betlehem: Photo Courtesy: World Aquatics
The men’s race was a thriller with the lead trading hands with 2024 world junior champion Sacha Velly leading the way into the final lap followed by a jostling pack including Andrea Filadelli and Gregorio Paltrinieri with Marc-Antoine Olivier and Betlehem going stroke for stroke.
Betlehem – Olympic bronze medallist as Hungarian teammate Krisztof Rasovszky won the title at Paris 2024 – came through with a storming final lap to come home first in 1:52:39.90 followed by Velly (1:52:44.20) and Andrea Filadelli (1:52:45.00). Marcello Guidi, Pasquale Giordano and Olivier were next to slap the board with Paltrinieri finishing 10th and Florian Wellbrock – winner of the opening leg in Somabay – 14th.
It was a second trip to the top of the Open Water World Cup for Betlehem following his win on the final leg at Golfo Aranci last year.
Betlehem – who won silver on the opening leg last month – said: “The biggest difference for me this time was handling the cold.
“Last year, I really struggled and even froze up during the race, but today I felt much better. I don’t know exactly what changed—maybe I adapted, maybe it’s physical—but I was comfortable in the water. That’s important, especially looking ahead to future races like the Olympics, where conditions could be similar.
“In the race, I tried to stay on one of the sides of the pack rather than in the middle. With the big waves, it was chaotic at times—you couldn’t always see what was happening around you—so being on the outside helped me stay aware and control my position.
“These conditions made drafting less effective. You couldn’t really relax at any point—you had to keep pushing the whole time because of the chop. It became a race of strength and consistency. By the third lap, I could already feel it in my arms, so it was about maintaining the effort all the way through.
On the final lap, I moved up from around fifth or sixth into the lead. I knew I had about 600 metres to go, so it was just about committing and going for the win.