European nations Italy, Portugal and France will host the first three, of six, events during the FINA Open Water Tour 2023.

The competition, formerly known as the FINA Marathon Swim World Series, will begin in Sardinia – 20-21 May – marking the first time Italy has hosted a Fina Open Water event outside of the World Championships, which they last held in 2009.

The second race of the season will see open water swimming return to Setubal, which has hosted the last three Olympic qualification events ahead of London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Leg three, in Paris, will take place in the Seine and double up as a test event for the 2024 Olympic Games.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT ROMA 2022 👇

Last season World champion Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy and Hungarian Olympic silver medallist Kristof Rasovszky shared the men’s title, with Sharron van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands second behind Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil.

“It’s a great feeling to hear that next season we’ll start in Sardinia,” said Paltrinieri.

“Racing in Italy is always special and I’m sure we’ll get a lot of fans and friends coming over to Sardinia to cheer us on.

“Sardinia is a beautiful place, especially for open water swimming. I’m really glad that a FINA event is back in Italy.”

2023 Fina Open Water Tour, dates for your diary:

20-21st May, Golfo Aranci, Sardinia (ITA) 

27-28th May, Setubal (POR)

5-6th August, Paris (FRA) 

28-29th October, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou (TPE)

4-5th November, Hong Kong (HKG)

1-2nd December, Eilat (ISR)

For regular updates about the European open water scene, keep across the sport’s LEN website page.