FINA has announced that the 25k open water race will not be contested at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. The 25k was introduced in 1991 at the World Championships and was actually the only open water event contested in that year. That was the case in 1994 as well until the 5k was added to the program in 1998, followed by the 25k in 2001.
As reported by Alex Pussieldi, the statement from FINA didn’t mention the fate of the 25k race in any meets apart from the 2023 World Championships. The statement explained that lower entry numbers in the 25k at the last two World Championships (2019 and 2022) and operating costs are among the reasons for this decision.
The number of entrants in the women’s race dropped from 21 to 20 from 2017 to 2019 and then to 15 in 2022. On the men’s side, it went from 28 in 2017 to 24 in 2019 and then increased to 25 in 2022. The 25k traditionally has fewer entrants than the other open water events. In 2022, the number of entries in the 25k was roughly a third of the number of entrants in the women’s 5k and 10k events and roughly half for the men’s 5k and 10k events.
# of Entrants in Open Water Events at World Championships (2005 – 2022)
| Women’s 25k | Women’s 10k | Women’s 5k | Men’s 25k | Men’s 10k | Men’s 5k | |
| 2005 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| 2007 | 13 | 42 | 28 | 20 | 53 | 39 |
| 2009 | 17 | 45 | 42 | 21 | 48 | 41 |
| 2011 | 21 | 56 | 42 | 29 | 67 | 53 |
| 2013 | 22 | 51 | 45 | 35 | 65 | 54 |
| 2015 | 21 | 55 | 38 | 32 | 70 | 49 |
| 2017 | 21 | 62 | 58 | 28 | 65 | 62 |
| 2019 | 20 | 64 | 54 | 24 | 74 | 61 |
| 2022 | 15 | 61 | 55 | 25 | 62 | 61 |
Includes entrants who did not finish (DNF), entrants who were disqualified (DSQ), and entrants who were over the time limit (OTL), but not entrants who did not start (DNS).
This decision will bring an end to Ana Marcela Cunha‘s reign as the 25k champion, which has lasted for 4 straight championships. She won gold in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022, and also won in 2011, making her a 5-time winner in this event. Cunha placed 5th in this event in 2013, the same year that she won 10k silver and 5k bronze.
All-time World Championships Medalist – Men’s 25k
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Perth | Chad Hundeby – United States | Sergio Chariandini – Italy | David O’Brien – Australia |
| 1994 Rome | Greg Streppel – Canada | David Bates – Australia | Aleksey Akatyev – Russia |
| 1998 Perth | Aleksey Akatyev – Russia | David Meca – Spain | Gabriel Chaillou – Argentina |
| 2001 Fukuoka | Yuri Kudinov – Russia | Stéphane Gomez – France | Stéphane Lecat – France |
| 2003 Barcelona | Yuri Kudinov – Russia | David Meca – Spain | Petar Stoychev – Bulgaria |
| 2005 Montreal | David Meca – Spain | Brendan Capell – Australia | Petar Stoychev – Bulgaria |
| 2007 Melbourne | Yuri Kudinov – Russia | Marco Formentini – Italy | Mohamed Zanaty – Egypt |
| 2009 Rome | Valerio Cleri – Italy | Trent Grimsey – Australia | Vladimir Dyatchin – Russia |
| 2011 Shanghai | Petar Stoychev – Bulgaria | Vladimir Dyatchin – Russia | Csaba Gercsák – Hungary |
| 2013 Barcelona | Thomas Lurz – Germany | Brian Ryckeman – Belgium | Evgeny Drattsev – Russia |
| 2015 Kazan | Simone Ruffini – Italy | Alex Meyer – United States | Matteo Furlan – Italy |
| 2017 Budapest | Axel Reymond – France | Matteo Furlan – Italy | Evgeny Drattsev – Russia |
| 2019 Gwangju | Axel Reymond – France | Kirill Belyaev – Russia | Alessio Occhipinti – Italy |
| 2022 Budapest | Dario Verani – Italy | Axel Reymond – France | Péter Gálicz – Hungary |
All-time World Championships Medalist – Women’s 25k
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Perth | Shelley Taylor-Smith – Australia | Martha Jahn – United States | Karen Burton – United States |
| 1994 Rome | Melissa Cunningham – Australia | Rita Kovács – Hungary | Shelley Taylor-Smith – Australia |
| 1998 Perth | Tobie Smith – United States | Peggy Büchse – Germany | Edith van Dijk – Netherlands |
| 2001 Fukuoka | Viola Valli – Italy | Edith van Dijk – Netherlands | Angela Maurer – Germany |
| 2003 Barcelona | Edith van Dijk – Netherlands | Britta Kamrau – Germany | Angela Maurer – Germany |
| 2005 Montreal | Edith van Dijk – Netherlands | Britta Kamrau – Germany | Laura la Piana – Italy |
| 2007 Melbourne | Britta Kamrau – Germany | Kalyn Keller – United States | Ksenia Popova – Russia |
| 2009 Rome | Angela Maurer – Germany | Anna Uvarova – Russia | Federica Vitale – Italy |
| 2011 Shanghai | Ana Marcela Cunha – Brazil | Angela Maurer – Germany |
Alice Franco – Italy |
| 2013 Barcelona | Martina Grimaldi – Italy | Angela Maurer – Germany | Eva Fabian – United States |
| 2015 Kazan | Ana Marcela Cunha – Brazil | Anna Olasz – Hungary | Angela Maurer – Germany |
| 2017 Budapest | Ana Marcela Cunha – Brazil | Sharon van Rouwendaal – Netherlands | Arianna Bridi – Italy |
| 2019 Gwangju | Ana Marcela Cunha – Brazil | Finnia Wunram – Germany | Lara Grangeon – France |
| 2022 Budapest | Ana Marcela Cunha – Brazil | Lea Boy – Germany | Sharon van Rouwendaal – Netherlands |
All-time World Championships Medal Table – 25k
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| Italy | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Brazil | 5 | 1 | |
| Russia | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Germany | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| USA | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Australia | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| France | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Spain | 1 | 2 | |
| Bulgaria | 1 | 2 | |
| Canada | 1 | ||
| Belgium | 1 | ||
| Argentina | 1 | ||
| Egypt | 1 | ||
| Hungary | 2 | 2 |
Sir our student is 11 years old and we wanted to participate for 5 km marathon is there any event in USA please Let Me Know.
When is the OW meet in October? USA is selecting the JR team and NAT team off of a “10K race at an unknown location in October”. Any word?
The Vegas venue was cancelled
You get stupid decision like this when a bunch of corrupt old men sit in a room together and tell each other how amazing they are without listening to sports community
I’d much rather see a 25 free than 25k
Keep the 25k, but make it elimination. One swimmer every km goes ciao ciao
I would watch the s*** out of that event. It would be akin to cycling criterium racing. Little bursts of energy throughout the race.
Would be great TV
Michael Andrew’s time
“MA’s time”…..for the first 50m maybe….ciao ciao after that 😉
This event simply isn’t supported well by our own sport. If every time we turn on the TV to hear swimming announcers around the world call the 1500 “the marathon” of swimming. No! The 1500 is NOT the marathon of swimming. The 25K is that race – and it’s not even decently covered or supported by our own sport at any level (local up to FINA).
Hard to argue there’s no audience for events like this, when Ironman regularly gets prime TV time for 10 hour+ races. Marathons get covered. Adventure Eco-Races are back and get a whole Amazon show for those (week long race!).
With the massive uptick in outdoor recreation interest, and things like Ultra-Marathons gaining… Read more »
To be fair, the main person I’ve ever heard constantly say the 1500 is our sports “marathon” is Rowdy Gaines. So please, consider the source.
Damn…. 4 years too late. I had to go to the ER when I got home from my 25k in 2019. Going on a 14 hr flight 10 hours after a race will do that to you.
🤢
I’m coming at this from an open water swimmers perspective, the 25k allowed many people who would have not previously had the chance to represent their country to experience worlds and that fact that that is being taken away just makes me sad. I get it didn’t pull in a lot of swimmers or views but the chance to compete is invaluable for those racing
More swimming socialism at its finest! As a sport, we all continue to insist that *someone else* fund our good times, without being willing to do any of the things to make those good times financially sustainable.
Socialism is when swimming