Johnson Lands Debut 10Km World Title For Self & Australia
In an open-water 10km final of podium firsts, Moesha Johnson landed her debut world title and Australia's first marathon crown as Italy's Ginerva Taddeuchi, and Lisa Pou, of Monaco , claimed debut World-Championship podiums, Pou also for self and country
Moesha Johnson claimed a debut World title and the first-ever gold for Australia in the 10km at World titles at the Singapore 2025 global aquatics showcase this afternoon.
Racing off the Palawan Green coast in the bay boasting Sentosa Island, Johnson swam a controlled raced, not always ahead but never out of contention for the gold she was chasing.
Moesha Johnson of Australia, gold, celebrates a debut 10km title for self and country at the 22nd World Aquatics Championships at Sentosa in Singapore - Copyrigh tGiorgio Scala / DBM Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto - all rights reserved
By the time the the end pad was in sight, the medals had been decided, Johnson ploughing ahead, Italy's Ginerva Taddeuchi, and Lisa Pou, of Monaco , on their way to debut World-Championship podiums.
Johnson's win marked Australia's fifth open water world title across all distances, the 10km now among those, since Shelley Taylor-Smith's 25km victory when open water made the global aquatics championships for the first time in 1991. Johnson and Kyle Lee, who claimed bronze in the men's 10km to win the first medal ever by Australia in that event, will defend the mixed team title later this week.
In hot, choppy conditions sad to be just over 30C but reported by swimmers as having felt much warmer, with sun on their back, She finished 4.40 seconds ahead Taddeucci and Pou:

Johnson's teammate Chelsea Gubecka finished ninth, which put in a fine late efforts such as the seventh place finish of Portugal's Mafalda Rosa.
In response to reports of 'dirty water', Singapore organisers then said water samples collected on Tuesday had shown a "significant improvement" before the men's race went ahead first late morning today. After the women's battle, Johnson reflected:
"That was definitely harder than Paris. The heat, 36-hour delay, the strong currents … that was one of the hardest circumstances and open water conditions I have been part of. Since the Olympics I have tried to embrace every opportunity and race with the feeling that I have nothing left to prove … I've had back-to-back illnesses but my family and faith got me through. And to all those that finished today ... hats off to you. All open water skills were on display today. And I am so proud of this team - we had two girls and two guys in the top 10 and that's a credit to this whole Dolphins team."
How the all-time tables were turned to the shape of 2025:
Women's 10Km World Champs - All-Time Medals
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
2 | Germany | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
3 | Great Britain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
4 | France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
5 | Italy | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
6 | Russia | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
7 | Australia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
8 | Brazil | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
9 | China | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
10 | United States | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
11 | Ecuador | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
12 | Spain | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
13 | Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
14 | Monaco | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
15 | Portugal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (15 entries): 14 Gold, 14 Silver, 15 Bronze = 43 total medals
Note: Bronze count is higher due to the tie in 2017
Women's 10km World - All-Time Podiums (2001-2025)
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Fukuoka | Peggy Büchse (Germany) | Irina Abysova (Russia) | Edith van Dijk (Netherlands) |
2003 | Barcelona | Viola Valli (Italy) | Angela Maurer (Germany) | Edith van Dijk (Netherlands) |
2005 | Montreal | Edith van Dijk (Netherlands) | Federica Vitale (Italy) | Britta Kamrau (Germany) |
2007 | Melbourne | Larisa Ilchenko (Russia) | Cassandra Patten (Great Britain) | Kate Brookes-Peterson (Australia) |
2009 | Rome | Keri-Anne Payne (Great Britain) | Ekatarina Seliverstova (Russia) | Martina Grimaldi (Italy) |
2011 | Shanghai | Keri-Anne Payne (Great Britain) | Martina Grimaldi (Italy) | Marianna Lymperta (Greece) |
2013 | Barcelona | Poliana Okimoto (Brazil) | Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) | Angela Maurer (Germany) |
2015 | Kazan | Aurélie Muller (France) | Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) | Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) |
2017 | Budapest | Aurélie Muller (France) | Samantha Arévalo (Ecuador) | Arianna Bridi (Italy) / Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil)* |
2019 | Gwangju | Xin Xin (China) | Haley Anderson (United States) | Rachele Bruni (Italy) |
2022 | Budapest | Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) | Leonie Beck (Germany) | Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) |
2023 | Fukuoka | Leonie Beck (Germany) | Chelsea Gubecka (Australia) | Katie Grimes (United States) |
2024 | Doha | Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) | María de Valdés (Spain) | Angélica André (Portugal) |
2025 | Singapore | Moesha Johnson (Australia) | Giverva Taddeucci (Italy) | Lisa Pou (Monaco) |