Open Water Swimmers of the Year: Florian Wellbrock and Moesha Johnson Enjoyed Dominating Seasons
Dominant. That’s the word that immediately comes to mind when evaluating the performances of Florian Wellbrock and Moesha Johnson at the 2025 World Championships. Before the pool battles got underway in Singapore, the German and Australian athletes starred in the open water, each claiming three medals in individual action, with Wellbrock adding a fourth piece of hardware in team competition.
Not surprising, Wellbrock and Johnson were no-brainer selections as Swimming World’s Open Water Swimmers of the Year.
For years, Wellbrock has been a dual threat in the sport, evident in his Olympic-medalist status in the pool and open water, and his identity as a world champion in each setting. In Singapore, Wellbrock put together an open-water showing for the ages, the 28-year-old walking away with four gold medals in as many events.
Wellbrock opened his latest trip to the World Champs by winning the most-coveted event on the schedule, the 10-kilometer distance. Behind a performance of 1:59:55.5, the German secured a three-second triumph over longtime foe Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy. From there, Wellbrock added another win over Paltrinieri in the 5k discipline, and mined gold in the 3k sprint. His open-water showcase was capped when he anchored Germany to victory in the team event.
The four gold medals by Wellbrock raised his career total to 14 medals in World Championships competition – 10 in open water and four in the pool. His collection features 10 gold medals, and Wellbrock is a guaranteed future inductee of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
“To be honest, I’m still a little speechless and I have no words for it,” Wellbrock said after winning his third solo title. “When I came here to Singapore, I just expected to get a top position in the 10k race because it’s the most important event at the Olympics. So my target was just to get a good week and giving all I have to give, and I ended up with three (solo) golds. That’s amazing.”
Photo Courtesy: World Aquatics
Like Wellbrock, Johnson appeared on all three individual open-water podiums at the World Championships, highlighted by victories in the 5k and 10k events. The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the 10k race, Johnson earned a four-second decision over Italian Ginevra Taddeucci, on the strength of a 2:07:51.3 clocking. Johnson and Taddeucci replicated their gold-silver finish in the 5k, the Aussie grabbing a one-second win.
Johnson’s third visit to the medals stand arrived in the 3k knockout sprint, where she tied Hungarian Bettina Fabian for the bronze medal. She also helped Australia to fifth place in the team race. During the year, Johnson won several titles in World Cup competition, and she was sixth in the final of the 1500 freestyle at Worlds.
“A little bit of shock,” Johnson said after her second open-water gold medal. “That was harder than I expected. The body’s not feeling too crash hot. To come away with two world titles in two plus days, in 30-degrees plus water, you can’t ask for much more than that.”