Results
El Río Open Water Swim 2026: results and report
The 30th edition was won in 40:44 and 51:39, and five of the six swimmers on the podium race in the junior categories. Of 490 listed, 315 made it across.
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The El Río Open Water Swim reached its thirtieth edition on Saturday 19 September 2026, and more people entered it than finished it: of the 490 swimmers listed in the general classification, 315 reached Caleta del Sebo with a recorded time. The first took 40:44 over the 2,600 metres that separate Lanzarote from La Graciosa. The first woman took 51:39, which also placed her fifteenth overall.
Every time in this report comes from the official classification published by the Cabildo de Lanzarote through Sportmaniacs and timed by TimingSense. Not from the press: newspapers publish second and third places as a gap behind the winner, and subtracting those gaps produces times that belong to nobody.
The story of the edition: both podiums came from the youth ranks
Cross-checking the six podium names against the 32 category classifications is what makes this edition worth reporting. Five of the six race in junior categories: the overall winner and all three leading women come from Junior, and the third man from Infantil. The only podium swimmer racing in an adult category is the second man.
| Place | Category | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1st man | Junior | 40:44 |
| 2nd man | Máster B | 41:32 |
| 3rd man | Infantil | 44:41 |
| 1st woman | Junior | 51:39 |
| 2nd woman | Infantil | 52:09 |
| 3rd woman | Junior | 53:27 |
Second place went to Álvaro Cabrera Winter in 41:32, forty-eight seconds behind the winner. That is a narrow gap across a channel, and the men’s podium was not settled until the judges reviewed the finish. The previous edition had come down to six seconds.
TriLanzarote does not publish the names of under-age athletes, not even when they win and their names are openly listed in the results and in the newspapers. The full classification, with names, is on the official race website, which is where it belongs.
A 2.6 km open-water crossing won by the youth ranks is not a one-year curiosity. It is a sign that the swimming clubs of the islands are putting very young athletes over adult distances, and that at El Río this already decides the race.
How many crossed, and how many did not
The general classification lists 490 swimmers across adults and juniors. 315 finished. The system marks 170 as did-not-finish and 5 as disqualified, without separating those who pulled out in the water from those who never started: the organisers have not published that breakdown, and it is not assumed here.
41 swimmers went under the hour. The final finisher came in at 2:11:32, almost an hour and a half after the winner, and that is telling in itself: the official cut-off is one hour after the first swimmer lands, and the results show it was not enforced. Among women, 97 of the 190 listed finished; among men, 218 of 300.
The comparison with 2025 deserves care. Last year 417 swimmers finished and this year 315, but the entry figure the organisers gave before the race — 500 — matches neither the 490 in the classification nor the 559 “theoretical entries” quoted in the press the next day. The only verifiable number is the official record: 315 people swam across El Río and were registered doing it.
The Chinij@ children’s swim, held in the waters of La Graciosa and not competitive, has no published classification.
The next one is in October
The Cabildo has already set the 31st edition for 9 October 2027, three weeks later in the calendar than this one. Anyone after a place should watch for entries opening: in 2026 they opened on 17 June and sold out before the scheduled deadline.
