Italy’s Dario Verani pulled away on the final lap and Louna Kasvio of Finland edged a photo finish to clinch their respective 10k races as the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup 2026 finally got underway in Tenero, Switzerland.
The stop in Tenero effectively became the season opener after the scheduled first leg in Protaras was cancelled. Thirty-two men and 31 women began their campaigns at the six-lap course in the Swiss village with two more stops in Razanac and Barcelona to come over the next four weeks.
Verani held his nerve after a series of close battles throughout the race to take the win in 1:47:19.51, having been inside the top four at every checkpoint before he kicked on down the final lap and dropped the rest of the field.
Just 14.53secs separated the top-10 finishers in the men’s race with Poland’s Bartosz Kapala 6.52secs back in second, followed by Estonia’s Jaan Pasko, Italian Fabio Dalu with Germany’s Diego Alfons Heinze rounding out the top five.
Verani, who won bronze as a guest at last month’s Pan-Pacific Championships, said through European Aquatics: “Today was a perfect day because the water was totally flat and the water temperature was perfect.
“I’m happy to do the race in this condition and it’s a good way to start the new season. My tactic was to stay back and improve my speed down the final lap, and I’m glad it paid off.”
The women’s race told a similar story with barely a body length separating the leaders after 10km of racing. Kasvio got the better of a five-strong lead pack to claim victory in 1:56:01.51, hitting the board just 0.06secs ahead of Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz.
Italy’s Iris Menchini took third, 8.58 seconds down, while German duo Fabienne Wenske and Luisa Rumler were fourth and fifth respectively.
It was Kasvio’s first senior international medal in open water, following an impressive eighth-place finish in the 10km at the European Championships in Paris.
The 20-year-old is the daughter of 200/400 free specialist Antti Kasvio who won Olympic 200 free bronze at Barcelona 1992 and the world title two years later.
“It means a lot and I’m super happy with the whole race,” she said. “It wasn’t really my plan to lead for about the whole two hours, but it was still nice and I think it’s a good experience to have this kind of race also. I’m super happy.
“It was definitely mentally a bit tough, but I think physically I knew I’m maybe in a better shape in this part of the season because I didn’t have that much vacation. I’ve trained with Klaudia, who got second, a lot this season, so I know what she’s good at. I was believing in myself that I can still beat her at the end.”
Attention now turns to Razanac in Croatia on 26 September for the next leg before the circuit concludes in Barcelona on 3 October.