Moesha makes world cup history

PIGGABEEN SWIMMER and Olympic silver medallist Moesha Johnson has created history by becoming the first athlete to win each of her events in the Open Water Swimming World Cup 2026.

The Tweed local took out the final event to be crowned World Champion on June 21 in Portugal.

The win puts her on track to secure a place at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

The final event win gave Moesha a clean sweep of all four 10-kilometre events over the past year, often with huge margins, and seven for seven in individual World Cup events, which World Aquatics called “absolute dominance”.

The final swim was run in rough Atlantic Ocean conditions, with Moesha dominant in the first sprint lap to earn the bonus. She then dropped back but fought back to the lead in the penultimate lap.

She fought off two Hungarians, Bettina Fabian and Viktoria Mihalyvari, in the home stretch to take gold.

The 28-year-old swimmer, who like generations before her has spent her life in the Tweed Shire, was ecstatic with the victory.

“Over the weekend I achieved something I didn’t even think possible. 2026 World Cup Champion with a perfect points score,” she posted to social media.

“A history-making season.

“The first athlete to win every World Cup stop and attain maximal points.

“The first Australian to win overall World Cup Champion.

“The first athlete to be undefeated in every single individual event, 10km, 3km knockout and sprint laps.”

Moesha said she was thrilled to have signed with sponsor Speedo Australia & New Zealand this year, calling the partnership “a dream come true”.

“Thank you to everyone supporting me,” she wrote.

“Gr8 Health, Central Engineering Pty Ltd, Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS).

“Thank you to Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting for the continued support of our swimming team. Thank you also to the organising committee for the great event and to the locals for being fantastic hosts.

“Open water is always an adventure, a true challenge of all things mind and body, and I hope that people can start to see these attributes of our sport and all things it embodies.

“Never doubt His mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energises you.”

Moesha spent her early years at Terranora and has been living at Piggabeen since grade one.

She went to Banora Point Primary School and Tweed River High before finishing at Palm Beach Currumbin High School.

Moesha was inspired to take up swimming by her uncle Brad Cooper, who was an Olympic gold medallist and ran a swim school at Burleigh with Moesha’s aunt, which was later bought by Laurie Lawrence.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Johnson competed in the 10km marathon.

She led for the majority of the event but could not hold off a late challenge from Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands, finishing with the silver medal. Moesha also finished sixth in the pool at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Championships in the 1,500m.

At the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Johnson won the gold medal in the 5km and 10km events.