Mo Johnson relishing golden World Cup adventure

Moesha Johnson has enjoyed a superb season on the 2026 Open Water World Cup circuit. (Getty Images: Emanuele Perrone) Link copiedShareShare articleFew of Australia's sporting talents are so accustomed to success as those swimmers who ply their trade in the water of our nation's pools. So golden are Australia's Dolphins that there is an expectation of success that breeds a degree of complacency among the sporting public. Kaylee McKeown took umbrage to that, hitting back at the perception that success is a guaranteed part of swimming in this country. "We go really unrecognised seeing as we bring in the most amount of [Olympic] medals," McKeown told reporters, including ABC Sport, ahead of the Australia vs The World event in Brisbane in December last year. "You see athletes that are in athletics, they make a semifinal, it's the best thing ever. "You see swimmers making a semifinal, it's hardly making the papers." Moesha Johnson can probably attest to that. Moesha Johnson has been striking new ground in open water swimming. (Getty Images: Emanuele Perrone) While most of the public's attention will be in the pool and the upcoming Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the trials for which take place in Sydney from June 8-13, Johnson has been quietly crushing her opposition on the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup circuit in the Northern Hemisphere. A world-class pool swimmer — Johnson finished sixth in the pool at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Championships in the 1,500m — it is in the myriad of conditions of open water racing where the country girl from Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales has really excelled. The reigning world champion in 5km and 10km open water, and silver medallist from Paris in the marathon 10km distance, Johnson has her sights set on gold in Los Angeles. That has meant competing in a variety of conditions: warm and flat water in Egypt's Red Sea, and cold and choppy in the Mediterranean at Ibiza and Golfo Aranci, the latter of which she had to wear a wetsuit in for the first time in competition. Moesha Johnson has tasted a lot of success of late, even while wearing a wetsuit. (Getty Images: Emanuele Perrone) Operating somewhat out of sight of the Australian public, Johnson has spent several months away from home during the latest Middle Eastern conflict. But through it all, the 28-year-old has been on the sort of golden tear few athletes can ever hope to dream of. "For me, this year, the goal was looking at [the 2028 Olympic Games in] LA and working backwards," Johnson told ABC Sport from her training base in Lanzarote last month. "And working backwards meant that open water is a priority." Nevertheless, Johnson did not want to lose her pool speed altogether. Moesha Johnson finished sixth in the pool at the last world championships. (Getty Images: Quinn Rooney) "I'm just doing it a little bit alternatively this year. I'm not doing the usual competitions. I'm still racing a lot of pool, it's still at the forefront of my mind, I'm just not doing the usual meets that everyone's looking at," she explained. "But that's why I chose this year to keep it a little different, a little interesting. After winning silver at the Paris Olympics, Moesha Johnson knew she needed to keep swimming or risk falling out of the sport, so she traversed the globe competing. But despite being away, Johnson kept a deep fire burning for home. "I didn't want to go, 'OK, I'm just going to swim open water,' my pool swimming is what's really complemented my open water. "I wanted to focus on the World Cups and the Pan Pacs for open water; I think that's a very important competition this year to prepare for the Olympics. "But I don't want to lose my pool swimming, so I spoke to my coach … and we looked at other competitions." Between World Cup stops, Johnson has competed in Sweden at the Swim Open Stockholm, with Olympic 1,500m bronze medallist Isabel Gose of Germany the only woman able to beat her over 800 and 1,500m. Prior to the final Open Water World Cup leg in the Portuguese Atlantic resort of Setúbal, just south of Lisbon, Johnson competed in another low-key meet to keep herself sharp. "I definitely think it helps keep it fresh by racing in different locations and racing different athletes," Johnson said. "I think is really helpful to me, not just racing the same girls, but broadening the way I race by changing who I race, because every athlete races it differently. It challenges me in those ways." The lanes are a bit bigger in open water. (Getty Images: Adam Pretty) Amidst those breaks in the pool, the three-time world champion is in the midst of one of the most impressive Open Water World Cup seasons in history, establishing a Jakara Anthony-like level of dominance over her rivals. Across the opening three legs of the Open Water World Cup circuit, Johnson has won all three 10km races, and both of the 3km knockout events. A change in approach to the 10km marathon event

Mo Johnson relishing golden World Cup adventure

Key takeaways

More in international