From pool to sea: European champions target Open Water Cup success at Sardinia 2026

From Kocaeli to Sardinia, six European medallists will swap the swimming pool for the Mediterranean waters of the Italian island in the fourth edition of the World Para Swimming Open Water Cup on Saturday at Alghero’s Lido San Giovanni beach.

Held since 2023, the WPS Open Water Cup reintroduced the discipline to the regular World Para Swimming calendar and has since seen some big names from the pool add another international title to their CVs.

Sardinia 2026 will also again feature six medal events:

• Men’s and Women’s 1.5km for classes S3 to S6
• Men’s and Women’s 3km for classes S7 to S10
• Men’s and Women’s 3km for classes S11 to S14

Among the Kocaeli medallists competing this year, there two athletes with different levels of experience in open water swimming.

“I’ve got quite an extensive experience in open water swimming, I started off as a child around 8 or 9, and I swam it every year until 2015. Then I got into competitive Para swimming, so it’s a different kind of swimming,” Dutch S10 swimmer Bas Takken said. “I like it, it’s more like a game, more tactic. I’m really looking forward to swimming in Sardinia with other Paralympic athletes and see what happens in the sea there.”

A two-time Paralympic medallist, Takken claimed a gold medal in the men’s 400m freestyle S10 and bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley SM10 at the European Championships. But now he knows he will face a completely different environment.

“You’ve got a lot of things to keep in mind. First, you have to navigate, there is no line on the bottom to follow. You have to find where you need to turn and keep track of where the other competitors are. Then you’ve also got the wave. You need to time them, whether they’re coming towards you or from your back. Wind, rain, whatever happens, you’re in the elements. There is always something extra to keep in mind, and that can make or break your race if you don’t have the right plan. But I’m really looking forward to experiencing it in a Para swimming-only event, because that’s new for me.”

The Netherlands will be represented by two other athletes in Sardinia, Julian Hendriks (S7) and seven-time Paralympic medallist Lisa Kruger (S10), who travelled to Italy with two bronze medals won at the European Championships in Turkiye. 

For Croatia’s Emma Mecic, the event will be a completely new experience.

“My discipline is the 400m, so I want to try a longer distance. I’m so excited because it’s my first time. I’ve never swum in the sea, apart from during holidays, so I’ll really enjoy it,” she said.

The Kocaeli 2026 silver medallist in the women’s 400m freestyle S9 and bronze medallist in the women’s 100m backstroke S9 said she is also looking forward to practising her language skills.

“I speak Italian. I’ve been to Italy before, but never to Sardinia. I’m really looking forward to it and to taking on this new challenge of competing in the sea, as I always swim in the pool.”

Sardinia, here we go AGAIN! 🔜 ✈️ 🇮🇹

🌊🏊‍♂️ The World Para Swimming Open Water Cup will return to Alghero’s Lido San Giovanni on 19 September 2026 for its fourth edition after the three-year hosting agreement being signed securing the competition on the island through 2028. pic.twitter.com/6AOsGQ2Q7g

— Para Swimming (@Para_swimming) December 12, 2025

Title holders

The other three Kocaeli medallists will represent the host nation in Sardinia. 

Federico Bicelli earned a medal of each colour at the European Championships, claiming gold in the men’s 400m freestyle S7, silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S7 and bronze in the men’s 50m freestyle S7. A three-time Paralympic medallist and Paris 2024 champion in the 400m freestyle S7, he will be defending his 2025 title in the men’s 3km race.

Luca da Prato and Letizia Milesi are two European champions making their debut in Sardinia in 2026. Da Prato won the men’s 100m backstroke S6 and was part of the silver medal-winning mixed 4x50m medley 20pts relay team. Milezi took gold in the women’s 50m freestyle S8, silver in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB7 and bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle S8.

Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg (S14) did not reach the podium in Kocaeli, but she will be the name to beat in the Open Water Cup after clinching her third consecutive gold in the women’s 3km S11-S14 race last year. She is the only athlete ever to have won this event.

Lindberg will once again face Australia’s Maddison Hinds (S14), who finished second last year. 

The 2024 winner and 2025 silver medallist in the men’s 1,5km S3-S6 race, Venezuela’s Ivanosky Jose Marichal, will also return to this year’s Open Water Cup.

Complete schedule and results of the Sardinia 2026 WPS Open Water Cup can be found here. 

Following the announcement of a three-year hosting agreement, Sardinia will also host the Open Water Cups in September 2027 and 2028.