To win any professional marathon swim or an international open water swim, you need speed as well as stamina.
Moesha Johnson (@swimmer_moesha) clearly has both.
The 28-year-old 2024 Paris Olympics 10 km silver medalist demonstrated her speed and stamina again in the 3 km Knockout Sprints at yesterday’s World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Ibiza, Spain.
28 women lined up for the 1500m Heat 1 and another 28 women lined up for the other 1500m Heat 2. Ten from each heat qualified to compete in the 1000m semifinal and the top 10 of those semifinalists qualified for the final 500m sprint.
Johnson won with plenty of clear water between her and second place Lea Boy of Germany. Third place was close between 2025 World Championship gold medalist Ichika Kajimoto of Japan in 6:27.40, Bettina Fabian of Hungary in 6:27.50, and 16-year-old Brinkleigh Hansen of the USA in 6:27.90.
Johnson told World Aquatics afterwards, “I was trying to conserve energy – but the water temperature (18.2°C) made that a bit difficult. My goal is always to save my strongest swim for the final. In the 1000m, the pace really lifted at the end, so I had to use a bit more energy than planned. The semifinal is probably the hardest round. With 20 swimmers all fighting for a place in the final, there’s a lot more pressure and urgency. In the final, my approach was simple – just give it everything. I wasn’t sure how I would feel after yesterday, so I just focused on racing as hard as I could.”
And hard was good enough for her second gold-medal finish in Ibiza.
World Cup 3 km Knockout Sprints Results
1. Moesha Johnson, 28, Australia, 6:19.80
2. Lea Boy, 26, Germany, 6:22.80
3. Ichika Kajimoto, 22, Japan, 6:27.40
4. Bettina Fabian, 21, Hungary, 6:27.50
5. Brinkleigh Hansen, 16, USA, 6:27.90
6. Ines Delacroix, 23, France, 6:32.10
7. Caroline Laure Jouisse, 31, France, 6:35.30
8. Maria de Valdes, 27, Spain, 6:37.70
9. Lou-Ann Gaudaire, 19, Spain, 6:38.80
10. Clemence Coccordano, 21, Italy, 6:40.80
In an efficient utilization of resources and opportunities, the Spanish Open Water Swimming National Championships are also being concurrently held in the same venue (see here).
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