By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
2026 EUROPEAN JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tuesday, July 7 – Sunday, July 12, 2026 Munich, Germany LCM (50 meters) Psych Sheet Live Results Recaps Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6Turkey’s Ahmet Mete Boylu competed at both the European Junior Championships and the World Junior Championships last summer. He swam the 200 free at both meets, set a lifetime best at both meets, and finished 4th at both meets.
He clocked 1:47.86 in Šamorín at the European Junior Championships, four tenths outside the medals, and was half a second off Raito Numata for bronze with a 1:47.24 in Otopeni a month later.
It was an entirely different trio that beat him at both meets. Tajus Juska (silver) and Sander Sorensen (bronze) only swam at the European Junior Championships last year, while Christian Giefing (gold) missed the final at the World Junior Championships.
Giefing and Juska were both back for the 2026 edition of the European Junior Championships this year, and there was the added threat of Russia’s Grigorii Vekovishchev, the world junior record holder in the SCM 400 free.
That threat was justified in the heats, as Vekovishchev roared to the top seed in 1:46.59. The semi-finals were even faster, as he dropped to 1:45.75 while Giefing clocked a new best of 1:45.88 for second. Boylu had clocked 1:48.33 and 1:47.69, solid enough swims but no guarantee of a podium.
The final was a different beast entirely. It had taken a 1:46.88 from Giefing to win gold at the 2025 edition – that would have placed 6th in 2026. Vekovishchev chose a bad time to have his slowest swim of the meet with a 1:46.62 for 5th, failing to match his front-half speed from the semi-final, but he was only punished so severely due to the quality of the field.
Boylu took over the lead just after the halfway point, creeping past early leader Juska, and never looked back. He led by over half a second with 50 to go, and despite some blistering final 50s from elsewhere in the field – 27.05 from Juska and 27.08 from Bogdan Toropkin– he hung on to take the win in 1:45.68, a best by nearly a second and a new Turkish record.
Boylu had come into the European Junior Championships as the top seed in the men’s 200 free, courtesy of the 1:46.53 he posted at the 2026 Turkish Championships. At its conclusion he now ranks among the top ten junior swimmers in history in the event.
Men’s LCM 200 Free, All-Time Junior Rankings
David Popovici (ROU) – 1:42.97, 2022 Danila Izotov (RUS) – 1:43.90, 2009 Ian Thorpe (AUS) – 1:44.06, 2001 Zhanshuo Zhang (CHN) – 1:44.86, 2025 Tatsuya Murasa (JPN) – 1:44.54, 2025 Hwang Sunwoo (KOR) – 1:44.62, 2021 Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) – 1:45.15, 2025 Ahmet Mete Boylu (TUR) – 1:45.68, 2026 Grigorii Vekovishchev (RUS) – 1:45.75, 2026 Antonio Djakovic (SUI) – 1:45.77, 2021Juska (1:45.83) and Giefing (1:45.88) also rank just outside the top 10.
Boylu’s 1:46.53 from earlier this year had already taken half a second of Baturalp Unlu’s former Turkish record, and he now more than a second faster than any of his countrymen.
He also now ranks 6th in the European rankings this season, behind five men who have all been world champions in their careers – David Popovici, Matt Richards, Lukas Maertens, James Guy, and Duncan Scott. That is quite some company to be in.
Other Underrated Swims From The European Junior Championships
Alessandra Mao – Mixed 4×100 Medley Relay – 53.58 (freestyle leg) Mao is a 200 freestyler, but missed the semi-finals here as she was the third-fastest Italian in the heats. No worry, as she slid over to the 100 and threw down some elite swims, winning the individual race in an Italian age group record of 54.28 and splitting 53.88, 53.70, and 53.58 on relays. The latter, coming in the mixed medley, was the key one – she went from 4th to 1st on the final length with a 27.57 back half, Christian Giefing (1:45.88), Grigorii Vekovishchev (1:45.75), Tajus Juska (1:45.83), Bogdan Toropkin (1:46.15) – Men’s 200 Freestyle A 1:45-point is an elite swim at the senior level in the 200 free – it took 1:45.60 to make the final at the 2025 World Championships. The first three here are now right in the mix for senior finals, and will be a threat at the senior European Championships in August if they swim there as well. Toropkin is just outside the 1:45s, but is also just 16 years old. Just three 16-year-olds have ever been faster – David Popovici, Ian Thorpe, and Luka Mijatovic. Not bad company to be in. Egor Proshin (47.58), Mikhail Shcherbakov (47.60) – Men’s 4×100 Free Relay A 47-point is the gold standard on the men’s 4×100 free relay – if you have one or more swimmers in the 48s it is tough to balance them out at the top end. They are also vanishingly rare at the junior level, especially from non-specialists. Shcherbakov , who won the 200 IM, definitely falls into that category. Jan Foltyn – Men’s 50 free (22.03), Men’s 50 fly (23.37), Men’s 50 breast (27.18) Three events, three 50s, three medals – is that you Vladimir Morozov? Foltyn was a world junior and European junior medalist in the 50 fly last year, but has turned into an all-round sprint star in 2026. The 50 breast is most impressive – he is less than a quarter of a second off the World junior record. Barbara Lesniweska – Women’s 200 IM – 2:12.45 Amalie Smith won the gold last year in 2:12.62, but with her not competing in 2026 the winning time was even faster. Lesniweska dropped three-quarters of a second to edge ever closer to Katarzyna Baranowska’s super-suited mark of 2:12.13, which ranks as the official Polish record in the event. She led wire-to-wire, winning by nearly two seconds.Read the full story on SwimSwam: Turkey’s Ahmet Mete Boylu’s EJC-Winning 200 Free – The Most Underrated Swim Of The Meet?
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