At the recent 2026 World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Santa Fe, Argentina, there were several close races (see videos of the races on the links below).

I like the branding at the end of races in Santa Fe, on the touchpads at the finish [see above]. It was similar to the branding at the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cups [shown above on right].

Traditionally, the touchpads in major international open water swimming races were the same color and design in the pool [see below]. These touchpads have been used for decades including at the first Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing [see Maarten van der Weijden shown below on the left, Larisa Ilchenko shown below on the right, and the finish touchpads used at the 2024 Paris Olympic open water swim and an earlier international competition].

The touchpads are functionally accurate with traditional black crosses in a sea of yellow. Swimming touchpads were first introduced in pool competitions in 1967. Swimmers stop the clock the instant a swimmer finish a race, typically under the water’s surface. But in the open water swimming world, the touchpads are elevated above the water surface, vertically mounted on a floating pontoon. The electronic pads require a firm touch (typically 1.5 to 2.5 kg of pressure) to register a swim finish. This ensures that waves or splashing water do not accidentally activate a finish time.

The swimmers wear wrist transponders wear transponders on both their wrists. They work in tandem with the physical contact on the pad to register a swimmer’s official time.

2026 World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships Video Coverage:

• Mixed 4x1500m (14-16) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Mixed 4x1500m (14-19) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Men’s 3 km Knockout (14-19) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Women’s 3 km Knockout Sprint (14-19) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Women’s 5 km (14-15) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Men’s 5 km (14-15) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Women’s 7.5 km (16-17) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Men’s 7.5 km (16-17) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Men’s 10 km (18-19) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here
• Women’s 10 km (18-19) | World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026 here

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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