Domenico Acerenza, Leonie Beck Win 10K Titles at Open Water World Cup Stop in Soma Bay

2024 Open Water Swimming World Cup

• March 23-24, 2024
• Soma Bay, Egypt
• Results

The 2024 Open Water Swimming World Cup kicked off this past weekend in Soma Bay, Egypt, with some familiar faces triumphing in the men’s and women’s 10km races on Saturday.

Domenico Acerenza led an Italian sweep of the men’s 10km podium in ahead of Gregorio Paltrinieri (1:55:28.90) and Dario Verani (1:55:29.50). In the women’s 10km, reigning overall World Cup champion Leonie Beck of Germany took the title in 2:04:31.40 with Hungary’s Bettina Fabian (2:04:31.40) less than half a second behind in a thrilling sprint finish.

Men’s 10K Recap

1. Domenico Acerenza (ITA) – 1:55:26.40
2. Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – 1:55:28.90
3. Dario Verani (ITA) – 1:55:29.50
4. Marc-Antoine Olivier (FRA) – 1:55:31.40
5. David Betlehem (HUN) – 1:55:31.60

David Betlehem, a 20-year-old Hungarian who placed 6th at the 2024 World Championships last month in Doha, Qatar, held the lead heading into the final lap. But there was a group of Italians bearing down on him as seven of the 11 swimmers in the leading pack hailed from Italy.

Acerenza pulled out the victory in windy conditions, out-sprinting Paltrinieri and Verani by two seconds for an all-Italian podium while Betlehem faded to 5th place behind France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier. The 29-year-old Acerenza won the final World Cup race of the 2023 series in Funchal last December before placing 7th at Worlds last month.

“Every race is important,” Acerenza said. “David Betlehem was the leader of the pack during this race. He is young but he is so strong, good swimmer, who does his job very well, I’m sure he will be stronger and stronger by the time (the Olympic Games Paris 2024).”

Paltrinieri, the 2022 world champion, appears to be rounding into form just in time for the Paris Olympics this summer. The 29-year-old dropped the 10km from his Worlds lineup last month in Doha, but still managed to punch his ticket to Paris thanks to Verani’s 8th-place finish.

“It’s a beautiful location, this is my first time here,” Paltrinieri said. “I’m glad to be here, especially after a race like this. I’m extremely happy that I’m back on the podium, because last year I could not manage to get a medal during the World Cup series.”

Verani’s bronze medal marked the 29-year-old’s first podium finish in this event since 2019.

“It’s very beautiful that I’m on the podium after a long time, and it’s amazing that I can share the podium with these guys,” Verani said. We are like a family, we train together, we stay together, it’s a great celebration for us.”

Piotr Wozniak, an 18-year-old from Poland, emerged as the junior champion with a 14th-place showing in 1:56:38.3.

Women’s 10K Recap

1. Leonie Beck (GER) – 2:04:31.00
2. Bettina Fabian (HUN) – 2:04:31.40
3. Angela Martinez (ESP) – 2:04:33.80
4. Ginevra Taddeucci (ITA) – 2:04:35.30
5. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) – 2:04:35.70

Beck continues to build her case as the Olympic favorite in the women’s 10km this summer with a hard-fought win over Fabian on Saturday. She rallied from behind for a comeback victory, clawing back from 18th place to sneak past Fabian with just a couple meters remaining.

“I didn’t want to get into a fight for the first part of the 10km, so I stayed back and saved some energy and caught some good waves,” Beck said. “There weren’t many swimmers, so I didn’t have to pass many of them, so it didn’t cost me much energy. After the fourth feed I tried to climb up and then I caught Ginevra.”

Beck opted not to defend her world title in Doha last month since she already qualified for Paris 2024 with her world title last summer in Fukuoka, Japan.

“It’s an amazing place,” Beck said of Soma Bay. “The conditions are great, the water is beautiful. During my swim I saw a lot of fish, it was very pleasant to swim here.”

Fabian settled for silver just four-tenths of a second behind Beck after leading over the last 200 meters.

“I was in a great position after the last buoy, then I realized I’m in the first position, so I started to sprint, but it was not enough,” Fabian said. “Leonie was a bit faster than me and she got away at the end. I’m very angry about that now, I know that I have to practice sprints in training… I had the chance to win my first World Cup, but I guess it’s still a bit to come.”

Angela Martinez made history by becoming the first Spanish woman to win an Open Water World Cup medal with her 3rd-place finish a couple seconds behind Fabian. The 20-year-old placed 13th at Worlds last month behind countrywoman Maria de Valdes, who became the first Spanish woman to medal in an open water event at Worlds with a 10km silver medal in Doha. Martinez and de Valdez were among five swimmers named to Spain’s provisional Olympic roster last month.

“This is an amazing moment for me, I’ve just won my first World Cup medal,” Martinez said. “It is a good motivation for the Olympics.”

Reigning Olympic champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil placed 5th behind Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci. Cunha took the race out fast as part of a new strategy she’s testing out during this Olympic year.

“We’re doing a different kind of training because of the Olympics, so I tried a different strategy – I swam a little stronger in the middle of the race because I know my opponents and they usually sprint better than me, so I have to push hard in the middle. I tried that today and I’m happy with it.”

Mixed 4×1500 Relay Recap

1. France – 1:11:10.10
2. Italy – 1:11:10.20
3. Germany – 1:11:17.60
4. Spain – 1:11:17.70
5. Kazakhstan – 1:17:50.30

The World Cup stop wrapped up with the mixed 4×1500 relay, where only six countries were fielding teams. The race came down to an exciting sprint finish as France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier out-touched Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri by just a tenth of a second — the slimmest margin possible in open water swimming.

“It’s a great result for Team France, I’m so happy,” Olivier said. “Yesterday we did a good result on the 10km, I’m happy that we finished this World Cup with a gold medal.”

“I know very well Gregorio Paltrinieri,” Olivier added. “He is one of the best in the field, it’s very hard to find a good strategy against him. I tried to save some energy during the 1500m, this is why I swam right behind Greg.”

It was the second silver medal of the weekend for Paltrinieri, who also earned a runner-up finish in Saturday’s 10km.

“I was really tired after yesterday, so I didn’t want to push hard,” Paltrinieri said. “I knew Marc-Antoine would catch me, and it was all about the touch. It was extremely close. I think I was unlucky at the touch. Despite all this, it was a good race.”

The battle for 3rd place was just as close as Germany’s Niklas Frach eked past Spain’s Guillem Pujol by a tenth of a second.