Florian Wellbrock took a well-earned break from the fray after yet another golden summer in Open Water saw him claim every gold available to him at the highest level of the sport: three golds at Paris 2026 Europeans that washed away the ghosts of Olympic disappointment in the Seine two years earlier were followed by a quick hop across the Pond and all of America to claim the 10km Pan Pacific Championships open crown.

If anyone had any doubts about the likelihood that the winning streak would continue for a man who in 2025 became the first swimmer ever to claim four World Open Water titles at one World Aquatics showcase event, they were surely dispelled by the two golds Wellbrock grabbed at the opening round of the World Cup in Cancun.

After claiming the 10km win on Friday and then adding victory in the Sprint Knockout event that's helping to elevate interest in Open Water, the 2020 Olympic Champion, speaking through World Aquatics, noted:

“Two golds is a great surprise for me to be honest, I only started my season on 1 October so I didn’t expect this."

That's the way to swim and explain your way into the hearts and minds of rivals: 'that's right, just five weeks training and I'm back at the helm, the last 48 hours simply my latest practice for the season ahead - a perfect start'.

The same could be said of Australian Moesha Johnson, Wellbrock's training partner at coach Bernd Berkhahn's Magdeburg Might squad, the global distance squad to beat, with golden shots in pool and Open Water on the biggest of occasions. Johnson claimed the same double as Wellbrock in Cancun:

Johnson Keeps The Gold Rush Going With World Cup Double Season-Starter

Moesha Johnson provided half the confirmation that Bernd Berkhahn's squad in Magdeburg is the distance team to beat, the new World Cup season a golden double-double with training partner Florian Wellbrock

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Wellbrock's Season Starter:

10km

Sprint Knockout

• RESULTS IN FULL

The rest of the report follows ...