World champion Axel Reymond was one of two French winners in North Macedonia ©Getty Images

French duo Oceane Cassignol and Axel Reymond were victorious at the first event of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) UltraMarathon Swim Series season at Lake Ohrid.

Cassignol led a France one-two in the women's race over 25 kilometres, touching the finish after 5 hours 16min 39.3sec.

Caroline Jouisse was second in 5:45:42.2 - almost half an hour behind the winner.

Argentina's Pilar Geijo completed the podium, matching the bronze medal she won at the North Macedonian venue in 2019.

In the men's contest, Reymond - the back-to-back world champion over 25km - earned a narrow win over Italy's Edoardo Stochino.


The winning time was 5:10:31.0 - exactly a second faster than Stochino's effort.

Evgenij Pop Acev was third, ensuring podium representation for the host country, in 5:10:34.5.

There are two more legs in the FINA UltraMarathon Swim Series this season, with Capri in Italy next on the calendar on September 5.

Rosario in Argentina is due to stage races on November 21.

With the circuit wiped out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first race since September 2019.