We’re on the back stretch now, having come to Day 4 at the 2026 European Swimming Championships at the Olympic Pool in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. The morning will begin with 9 heats of men’s 200 free, 5 heats of women’s 100 fly, 8 heats of men’s 50 back, and 3 heats of women’s 200 breast; we’ll wrap the session with heats of the men’s 4×100 free relay and heats of the women’s 1500 free.
Defending champion David Popovici of Romania is the heavy favorite in the 200 free, with a seed time of 1:44.53 that is .7 faster than that of Germany’s Lukas Martens’ and 1.2 seconds faster than that of Matthew Richards from Great Britain. Popovici won the 100 free title, setting a Championship Record.
Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium has the edge in the women’s 100 fly as the only woman entered with a sub-56 second seed time (55.84). Germany’s Angelina Kohler and Neutral Athlete B’s Daria Klepikova separate themselves from the field by coming in with 56s.
In the men’s 50 back, World Record holder Kliment Kolesnikov of Neutral Athletes B comes in with the only sub-24 second seed time (23.68). That’s half a second faster than #2 seed, his teammate Pavel Samusenko, and 7-tenths faster than Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan. Defending champion Apostolos Christou of Greece, France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Michele Lamberti of Italy, and 200 back champion Hubert Kos of Hungary will put pressure on the top seeds.
Great Britain’s Angharad Evans is top seed in the women’s 200 breast, 7-tenths faster than #2 seed Evgeniia Chikunova from Neutral Athletes B. Evans dominated the 100 breast final, setting a new Championship Record with her win on Wednesday.
In the men’s last event of the morning, Italy, Neutral Athletes B, Great Britain, Spain, and Germany are expected to qualify through in the men’s 4×100 free.
Italy’s Simona Quadarella, who won the 800 free by 2.9 seconds over Germany’s Isabel Goss, gets stronger the longer she is in the water. It is no wonder, then, that she is the runaway favorite in the women’s 1500 free. Those heats will close out the morning session. Goss’ teammate Maya Werner was 3rd in the 800 behind Quadarella and Goss; they could repeat their podium positions in the 1500. Kseniia Misharina from Neutral Athletes B and Hungary’s Vivien Jackl have their eyes set on the podium, as well.
Men’s 200m Freestyle Heats
World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
European Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
Championship Record: 1:42.97 – David Popovici, Romania (2022)
2025 World Champion: David Popovici (ROU), 1:43.64
2024 European Champion: David Popovici (ROU), 1:43.13
Top 16 Qualifiers:
Christian GIEFING (AUT) – 1:44.96
James GUY (GBR) – 1:45.40
Sauveur CRISTOFINI (FRA) – 1:45.93
David POPOVICI (ROU) – 1:46.06 1
Lucas HENVEAUX (BEL) – 1:46.10
Lukas MARTENS (GER) – 1:46.12
Tomas NAVIKONIS (LTU) – 1:46.22
Jack MCMILLAN (GBR) – 1:46.36
K.A. SIERADZKI (POL) – 1:46.39
Ivan GIREV (NAB) – 1:46.43
Jarno BASCHNITT (GER) – 1:46.45
Roman FUCHS (FRA) – 1:46.83
Robin HANSON (SWE) – 1:46.84
Danas RAPSYS (LTU) – 1:46.94
DJAKOVIC Antonio (SUI) – 1:47.07
D’AMBROSIO Carlos (ITA) – 1:47.16
Our first big swim came from Croatia’s Franko Grgic in the outside lane in heat 4; he won by nearly a body length with 1:47.51. Great Britain’s Thomas Dean won the next heat in 1:46.48, taking nearly 1.6 off his seed time and throwing down the gauntlet for the heats to follow.
Danas Rapsys of Lithuania took heat 6 from lane 1, clocking a 1:46.91 ahead of Jacopo Barbotti of Italy (1:47.22).
Austria’s Christian Giefing blasted a 1:44.96 , beating his seed time by 9-tenths, to win the first circle-seeded heat. Great Britain’s James Guy touched 2nd in 1:45.40. Coming in 3rd, from lane 1, was 16-year-old Sauveur Cristofini of France, whose 1:45.93 was a lifetime best by half a second. Matthew Richards of Great Britain was a no-show in lane 4.
Germany’s Lukas Martens went 1:46.12 to win heat 8 ahead of Ivan Girev from Neutral Athletes B (1:46.43) and Switzerland’s Antonio Djakovic (1:47.07).
Top-seeded David Popovici of Romania won the last heat in 1:46.04. He went out very quickly, flipping in 50.4 at the 100 and getting out to a near body-length lead with 2 laps to go. His 3rd 50 was 27.9, though, and the field started to close in on him. Popovici turned on the jets over the final 25 meters to get the win, just edging Great Britain’s Jack McMillan (1:46.36) and K.A. Sieradzky of Poland (1:46.39). McMillan’s time eclipsed that of Dean, pushing his teammate out of the semi-finals.
Out because of the 2-swimmers-per-country rule:
Thomas DEAN (GBR) – 1:46.48
Women’s 100m Butterfly Heats
World Record: 54.33 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2026)
European Record: 55.48 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2016)
Championship Record: 55.89 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2016)
2025 World Champion: Gretchen Walsh (USA), 54.73
2024 European Champion: Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL), 57.47
Top 16 Qualifiers:
Roos VANOTTERDIJK (BEL) – 56.76
Angelina KOHLER (GER) – 56.77
Barbora SEEMANOVA (CZE) – 57.43
Daria KLEPIKOVA (NAB) – 57.56
Louise HANSSON (SWE) – 57.67
Anastasiya KULIASHOVA (NAA) – 57.85
Tamara POTOCKA (SVK) – 57.92
Georgia DAMASIOTI (GRE) – 57.94
Keanna MACINNES (GBR) – 58.02
Anna NTOUNTOUNAKI (GRE) – 58.18
Helena Rosendahl BACH (DEN) – 58.22
Tessa GIELE (NED) – 58.35
Lana PUDAR (BIH) – 58.45
Aliisa SOINI (FIN) – 58.55
(tie) Zuzanna FAMULOK (POL) / Anita GASTALDI (ITA) – 58.58
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Czech Republic’s Barbora Seemanova won heat 1 in 57.43. Seeded with no time and swimming in an outside lane, she came to the wall 1.8 seconds ahead of runner-up Kim Busch of Netherlands (59.28).
Heat 2 went to Felicia Klintemar of Sweden in 58.83, a .7 drop from her entry time. Sandra Maria Balto of Norway touched 2nd in 59.18.
Daria Klepikova from Neutral Athletes B was victorious in heat 3, coming to the wall at 57.56, a body length ahead of Slovakia’s Tamara Potocka (57.92) and Great Britain’s Keanna MacInnes (58.02).
Germany’s Angelina Kohler clocked a 56.77 to win heat 4 by .9 over Sweden’s Louise Hansson (57.67) and Neutral Athletes A’s Anastasiya Kuliashova (57.85).
The last heat went to Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk, the top seed coming into the meet, in 56.76. Helena Rosendahl Bach of Denmark (58.22), Tessa Giele from Netherlands (58.35), Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Lana Pudar (58.45), and Finland’s Aliisa Soini (58.55) came to the wall together behind Vanotterdijk.
Men’s 50m Backstroke Heats
Top 16 Qualifiers:
Kliment KOLESNIKOV (NAB) – 24.12
Pavel SAMUSENKO (NAB) – 24.13
Miroslav KNEDLA (CZE) – 24.19
Ksawery MASIUK (POL) – 24.46
Apostolos CHRISTOU (GRE) – 24.52
E.F. PEDERSEN (DEN) – 24.55
Michele LAMBERTI (ITA) – 24.56
Hubert KOS (HUN) – 24.57
Tomer Yakov SHUSTER (ISR) – 24.62
Yohann NDOYE-BROUARD (FRA) – 24.65
Ralf TRIBUNTSOV (EST) – 24.66
Remi Noel Claude FABIANI (LUX) – 24.73
Thomas CECCON (ITA) – 24.75
Ivan MARTINEZ SOTA (ESP) – 24.88
(tie) Ole BRAUNSCHWEIG (GER) / Oliver MORGAN (GBR) / Jack SKERRY (GBR) – 24.90 *
(to be determined)
*Swim-off required
Update: Great Britain’s Morgan (24.63) and Skerry (24.75) secured their spots in tonight’s semi-final during the swim-off for 15th and 16th places. Braunschweig touched in 24.81 for 3rd place. All three were faster than they had been in heats this morning.
Iceland’s Gudmunder Leo Rafnsson improved his seed time by .08 to win heat 1 in 26.19. There was a tie for first place in heat 2, with both Tudor-Andrei Iordache of Romania and Ronny Brannkarr of Finland stopping the clock with 25.87.
Hugo Gonzalez of Spain was .4 better than his entry time in heat 3; he won with 24.96. Luxembourg’s Remi Fabiani went 24.73 in the next heat to drop .6 off his seed time and win by 6-tenths. Ireland’s John Shortt was the fastest in heat 5 with 25.11.
Greece’s Apostolos Christou won the first circle-seeded heat in a photo finish. He touched in 24.52, just eking past Hubert Kos of Hungary (24.57) and Raif Tribuntsov of Estonia (24.66). There was a 3-way tie for 4th place in the heat among Germany’s Ole Braunscheig and Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan and Jack Skerry, all of whom went 24.90.
As it turns out, the trio tied for 15th place and will have to do a swim-off after heat 1 of the women’s 1500 free.
Heat 7 was very close – from the flags to the wall it was still anyone’s race, but Pavel Samusenko managed to get his hand on the pad first and got the win with 24.13. Miroslav Knedla of the Czech Republic touched out Georgii Iakovlev of Neutral Athletes B, 24.19 to 24.47, for 3rd.
Kliment Kolesnikov of Neutral Athletes B won the last heat in 24.12, narrowly beating teammate Samusenko’s time from the following heat and relegating Iakovlev to the 3rd athlete from his country. Despite his 5th-place finish overall, he is out for the semi-finals. Ksawery Masiuk of Poland was runner-up in the heat with 24.46. R.E.F. Pedersen of Denmark beat Italy’s Michele Lamberti by .01 with 24.55 for 3rd.
Out because of the 2-swimmers-per-country rule:
Women’s 200m Breaststroke Heats
World Record: 2:17.55 – Evgeniia Chikunova(RUS), 2023
European Record: 2:17.55 – Evgeniia Chikunova(RUS), 2023
Championship Record: 2:19.84 – Rikke Moller Pedersen (DEN), 2014
2025 World Champion: 2:18.50 – Kate Douglass (USA)
2022 European Champion: 2:23.27 – Lisa Mamie (SUI)
Top 16 Qualifiers:
Angharad EVANS (GBR) – 2:22.66
Mona MCSHARRY (IRL) – 2:23.37
Evgeniia CHIKUNOVA (NAB) – 2:24.18
Anna ELENDT (GER) – 2:25.56
Kotryna TETEREVKOVA (LTU) – 2:26.27
Alina ZMUSHKA (NAA) – 2:26.55
Tes SCHOUTEN (NED) – 2:26.69
Nikoleta TRNIKOVA (SVK) – 2:26.84
Ellie MCCARTNEY (IRL) – 2:26.95
Clara RYBAK-ANDERSEN (DEN) – 2:27.19
Lena LUDWIG (GER) – 2:27.89
Lisa ANGIOLINI (ITA) – 2:28.24
Kay-Lyn LOHR (SUI) – 2:28.47
Anna PIROVANO (ITA) – 2:29.49
Yana KLIKOTSKA (UKR) – 2:30.31
Jenna LAUKKANEN (FIN) – 2:30.52
Kotryna Teterevkova opened the women’s breaststroke heats with a narrow victory in 2:26.27. She, Tes Schouten of Netherlands, and Ireland’s Ellie McCartney were swimming stroke-for-stroke down the stretch, but Teterevkova had the edge at the touch. Schouten came in 2nd with 2:26.69; McCartney went 2:26.95 for 3rd.
In heat 2, Germany’s Anna Elendt was out first at the 50 and led by .8 at the 100. But Evgeniia Chikunova from Neutral Athletes B had a huge second half, splitting 36.6/36.3 to blast past Elendt and get the win with 2:24.18. Elendt finished 1.3 seconds ahead of Slovakia’s Nikoleta Trnikova (2:26.84), in 2:25.56.
Top-seeded Angharad Evans cruised to a wire-to-wire win in the final heat. She led Ireland’s Mona McSharry by a full second at the 100 and by .6 at the 150. Both Evans and McSharry took their feet off the gas pedals over the final 50 meters, coming home in 38-lows to clock field-leading 2:22.66 and 2:23.37, respectively. Neutral Athletes A’s Alina Zmushka finished 3rd with 2:26.55.
Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Heats
World Record: 3:08.24 – USA (2008)
European Record: 3:08.32 – France (2008)
Championship Record: 3:10.41 – Russia (2021)
2025 World Champion: Australia, 3:08.97
2024 European Champion: Serbia, 3:12.90
Top 8 Teams:
Neutral Athletes B – 3:12.21
Great Britain – 3:12.80
Croatia – 3:13.06
Spain – 3:13.48
Hungary – 3:14.17
Netherlands – 3:14.92
Norway – 3:15.23
Germany – 3:15.35
The first of the two heats of men’s 4×100 free began with Hungary’s Nandor Nemeth getting his squad out to a body-length advantage with a 47.83 leadoff. Szebasztian Szabo (48.14), Oliver Kos (49.34), and Adam Jaszo (48.86) followed, and Hungary won the heat with 3:14.17.
Coming to the wall in quick succession behind them were Germany (3:15.35 – Josha Salchow, Cornielius Jahn, Julian Koch, Ole Mats Eidam), Israel (3:15.45 – Alexey Glivinskiy, Denis Loktev, Daniel Krichevsky, Martin Kartavi)), Italy (3:15.59 – Manuel Frigo, Alessandro Miressi, Lorenzo Ballarati, Leonardo Deplano), and Sweden (3:15.78 – Ludvig Bartolek, Robin Hanson, Elias Persson, Charlie Skoglund MacMillan). Switzerland were DQd in the heat.
Heat 2 was faster, and nearly all the teams made the top 8. Great Britain in lane 1, and Croatia in lane 0, led for the first 250 meters, but Neutral Athletes B took over at the 300 and never let up. Mikhail Shcherbakov (49.16), Roman Zhidkov (47.92), Vasilii Kukushkin (47.21), and Andrei Minakov (47.92) combined for the winning 3:12.21. Great Britain (Gabriel Shepherd, Duncan Scott, Alexander Cohoon, Jacob Mills) touched out Croatia (Vlaho Nenadic, Jere Hribar, Vili Sivec, Toni Dragoja), 3:12.80 to 3:13.06, for 2nd place.
Spain (3:13.48), Netherlands (3:14.17), and Norway (3:15.23) also qualified for the final.
(France did not qualify a men’s 4×100 during their Elite Nationals this year.)
Women’s 1500m Freestyle Heats
World Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
European Record: 15:31.79 – Simona Quadarella, Italy (20025)
Championship Record: 15:50.22 – Boglarka Kapas, Hungary (2016)
2025 World Champion: Katie Ledecky (USA), 15:26.44
2024 European Champion: Vivien Jackl (HUN), 16:06.37
Top 8 Qualifiers:
Simona QUADARELLA (ITA) – 16:05.28
Kseniia MISHARINA (NAB) – 16:08.71
Isabel GOSE (GER) – 16:10.51
Artemis VASILAKI (GRE) – 16:13.81
Vivien JACKL (HUN) – 16:16.34
Maya Werner (GER) – 16:17.78
Maria DE VALDES ALVAREZ (ESP) – 16:18.54
Angela MARTINEZ GUILLEN (ESP) – 16:22.43
Finland’s Ada Hakkarainen won heat 1 of the 1500s with 17:03.73.
Isabel Gose of Germany clocked a 16:10.51 to win heat 2. She and Artemis Vasilaki of Greece were quite even through the 400, but Gose pulled away at the 450 and continued to build her lead over the next two 500s. She ended with a 3.5-second advantage over Vasilaki, who placed 2nd in the heat with 16:13.81, a 7.1-second improvement over her entry time. Hungary’s Vivien Jackl was 3rd with 16:16.34. She trailed Spain’s Maria de Valdes by about a body length until the 700, when she began to close the gap. Jackl pulled even at the 950 and by the 1000 she was up by .4. From there, she continued to outsplit de Valdes and finished 4.8 seconds ahead with 16:16.34.
Italy’s Simona Quadarella, the European Record-holder, took the final heat in a smooth 16:05.28. Kseniia Misharina from Neutral Athletes B was only 3.5 seconds behind with 16:08.71, while Germany’s Maya Werner led the next group with 16:17.78. Misharina went out quickly; she led Quadarella by a few strokes through the 750, but the Italian descended from 32.3s/32.2s to 31.9s/31.8s and Misharina couldn’t keep pace over the second half of the race.