The 3 km Knockout Sprints are 3 races in one short window.
Each race (1500m first, 1000m second, and 500m third and final) is a mixture of strategy, tactics, recovery, and increased intensity.
In yesterday’s World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 3 km Knockout Sprints in Golfo Aranci, Italy, the headliners – Moesha Johnson (28, Australia, World Aquatics bio here) and David Betlehem (22, Hungary, 22, World Aquatics bio here) proved they are the crème de la crème by both winning close races.
Men’s Race
After anchoring the winning 4x1500m mixed team relay, Gregorio Paltrinieri (31, Italy, World Aquatics bio) returned to the podium – but not enough to beat first-time podium finisher Paulo Strehlke Delgado (19, Mexico, World Aquatics bio here, @paulostrehlke, shown above on right). Strehlke paced himself well through the heats (second to Paltrinieri) and semifinals (fourth to Betlehem, Paltrinieri, and Bailey Armstrong).
The 19-year-old Mexican said after his first career podium position, “I’m really happy. It’s my first World Cup in almost two years, so I’m happy to be back at a really good level. Last year was really hard for me. I had two surgeries last year, so I couldn’t swim at all.“
He was also competing against swimmers who he respects, “I’ve always said, and I’ve told him personally, Greg [Paltrinieri] is my favorite swimmer – I really look up to him. David [Betlehem] is a great, great swimmer, he is crazy fast and has such good experience and tactics, so I’m really happy to be there. And now coming back and going back home with a medal, it really means a lot.”
Women’s Race
On the women’s side, Johnson remains dominant, but her training partner and 1500m 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medalist Isabel Gose (23, Germany, World Aquatics bio here, @isabel.gose, shown above on left) is adding another distance event to her Olympic dreams. And why not?
Unlike the shorter distance swimmers, Olympic-caliber distance freestylers only have the 800m, 1500m, and 10 km races to focus on. Ous Mellouli, Florian Wellbrock, Éva Risztov, Sharon van Rouwendaal, Gregorio Paltrinieri, and David Davies have all completed a Mellouli Double during their careers where they won both pool swimming and open water swimming medals at the Olympics or World Championships.
Gose said in her post-race interview, “I’m really happy, it’s my first medal in an individual event…[and] I know how tough [Johnson] is because we train together, so I think she can really be proud of herself.”
World Cup 3 km Women’s Knockout Sprints Results from Golfo Aranci
1. Moesha Johnson, Australia, 28, 6:18.60
2. Isabel Gose, Germany, 23, 6:19.80
3. Paula Otero Fernandez, Spain, 22, 6:22.80
4. Lea Boy, Germany, 26, 6:29.50
5. Brinkleigh Hansen, USA, 16, 6:29.60
6. Airi Ebina, Japan, 24, 6:30.90
7. Bettina Fabian, Hungary, 21, 6:31.40
8. Angela Martinez Guillen, Spain, 22, 6:33.80
9. Mariah Denigan, USA, 22, 6:34.50 +00:15.90
10. Rebecca Rimoldi, Italy, 19, 6:35.00
World Cup 3 km Men’s Knockout Sprints Results from Golfo Aranci
1. David Betlehem, Hungary, 22, 6:00.40
2. Paulo Strehlke Delgado, Mexico, 20, 6:01.70
3. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy, 31, 6:02.80
4. Oliver Klemet, Germany, 24, 6:03.00
5. Andrea Filadelli, Italy, 25, 6:03.40
6. Marcello Guidi, Italy, 28, 6:04.60
7. Ivan Puskovitch, USA, 25, 6:04.70
8. Nicholas Sloman, Australia, 28, 6:05.10
9. Davide Marchello, Italy, 24, 6:06.70
10. Bailey Armstrong, Australia, 27, 6:06.80
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