Australian swimmer wins 10km and 3km elimination races at Open Water Swimming World Cup
Australian swimmer Moesha Johnson won both the 10km and 3km elimination races at the Open Water Swimming World Cup in Cancún, Mexico, extending her dominance from the 2025/26 season into the 2026/27 campaign.
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Moesha Johnson won every single open water event she entered during the 2025/26 season. She began the 2026/27 campaign at the Cancún leg of the Open Water Swimming World Cup.
The Cancún leg of the Open Water Swimming World Cup may have been the start of a new season.
But for dominant Australian Moesha Johnson, absolutely nothing changed.
Following a stunning 2025/26 season in which Johnson won every single open water event she entered, the 29-year-old started the 2026/27 campaign with yet another double gold medal-winning weekend in Mexico, underlining a dominance rarely seen in top level international sport.
In Friday's 10km race, Johnson set out her stall early by claiming the $US1,000 ($1,455) bonus for winning the sprint lap, before easing up.
"After the sprint lap the goal was just to drop back and relax," Johnson told World Aquatics.
"I haven't got the big endurance work behind me for this season so far, so my endurance strength isn't quite there.
"I really wanted to practice my open water skills, get in the pack, just play around a little bit."
After recovering amidst the melee of the main group, Johnson made her way back to the front and powered to victory, finishing in a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 31 seconds, 13 seconds ahead of Japan's Airi Ebina and Italy's Ginevra Taddeucci.
St Peter's Western swimmer and World Cup debutant, 22-year-old Jacqueline Davison-McGovern, finished in seventh place.
After her success in the 10km, Johnson backed up to win a second gold medal in the 3km elimination race.
Johnson won the 1,500m heat, the 1,000m semifinal and the 500m final dash to make it two-from-two to start the year.
"For me this was a bit more of a closure to 2026 rather than a start to the new season," Johnson said after the 10km.
"We haven't had our normal preparation so I didn't know where I was at, but today I gave myself every opportunity to finish 2026 as my year on top.
"I know people might have come to expect [winning] from me, but it's not that easy to be on top every single race.
"It's really stressful and it takes a lot of work, and it's something that I'm really proud of now.
"Hopefully, the increasing standard keeps lifting the professionalism of our sport and the girls around us and it's just as entertaining as ever."
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