Moesha JOHNSON (AUS) and Florian WELLBROCK (GER) each clinched their second gold medals of the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 on Friday (18 July) after winning the women’s and men’s 5km open water swimming events respectively. Both swimmers had also won the 10km titles at Sentosa on Wednesday. 

In the women’s 5km race, Johnson finished in 1hr 2min 1.3sec, pipping Ginevra TADDEUCCI (ITA) to gold by one second. Women’s 10km silver medallist Taddeucci clocked 1:02:02.3, while Ichika KAJIMOTO (JPN) posted 1:02:28.9 to win her first World Aquatics Championships medal. 

Singaporeans Kate ONA (1:09:53.9) and Muse GOH (1:13:57.4) finished 43rd and 60th respectively. 

In the men’s race, Wellbrock won his eighth world championship gold in 57:26.4, ahead of Gregorio PALTRINIERI (57:29.3) and Marc-Antoine OLIVIER (57:30.4). Singapore’s Luke Tan finished 68th in 1:07:26.9, while compatriot Ian Leong was 74th in 1:11:34.8.

Meanwhile, the artistic swimming competition of the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 began at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, as the women’s solo and duet technical events got underway.

In the women’s solo technical, pre-event favourites earned their spots in the final with ease, with China’s XU Huiyan head and shoulders above the competition in the preliminary round with a score of 265.8984. The 19-year-old, who won five gold medals at the World Cup Super Final last month, is on the hunt for her first world title.

Vasilina KHANDOSHKA (NAA) had the second-best score of the day (254.8200), followed by Spain’s Iris TIO CASAS (253.7691).

Others who finished among the top 12 include Vasiliki ALEXANDRI (AUT) and Klara BLEYER (GER).

They will contest the final, which takes place on 19 July.

In the women’s duet technical, Austria’s Anna-Marie ALEXANDRI and Eirini-Marina ALEXANDRI delivered the most difficult routine in the preliminary round, qualifying for the final with the day’s highest score of 305.1684 points.

Twin sisters LIN Yanhan (CHN) and LIN Yanjun (CHN) brushed aside nerves as they made a strong world championships debut, earning 301.0933 to qualify second.

Duets from teams such as Japan, Spain, and the United States completed the top 12 pairs. The women’s duet technical final takes place on 21 July.

The artistic swimming action continues tomorrow at the World Aquatics Championships Arena. The day begins with the team free preliminary round at 10am local time.

Featured Photo Credit: Singapore Aquatics

The World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 runs from 11th July to 22nd August 2025. More information available here

The full schedule for the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 can be found here. Details on ticketing can be found here, and information on the extensive global coverage of the event can be found here.