By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
European Swimming Championships
August 10-16, 2026 Paris, France — Olympic Aquatics Centre LCM (50 Meters) Meet Information Meet Central SwimSwam Preview IndexBY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE
World Record: 20.88 – Cam McEvoy, Australia (2026) European Record: 20.94 – Fred Bousquet, France (2009) Championship Record: 21.11 – Ben Proud, Great Britain (2018) 2025 World Champion: Cam McEvoy (AUS), 21.14 2024 European Champion: Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE), 21.72The men’s 50 free this year has a clear favorite in Egor Kornev, but the field behind him could hardly be tighter. Kornev has cemented himself as one of the very best sprinters in the world this season, and anyone other than him on top of the podium would be a surprise, but the other medals could go to almost anyone.
Andrej Barna broke through in the 50 free last season and is one of only two other swimmers to have been under 21.50. Sean Niewold, Nikita Sheremet, and Jere Hribar all come off strong NCAA seasons, while Meiron Cheruti and Leonardo Deplano are underrated veterans.
A total of 18 European men have broken 22 seconds so far this season, and the semi-finals look like being an absolute bloodbath. All eight of the swimmers who emerge from them will fancy their chances of standing on the podium.
The Favorites?
We’ll start with the absolute favorite. Kornev placed 5th in the 50 free at the 2025 world championships, his first major international meet, clocking a near-best of 21.53. That was the slowest of a trio of incredibly consistent swims, having swum 21.52 in the heats and 21.51 in the semi-finals, but he has been on another level this year.
He posted some phenomenal short course times over the winter, lowering his best first to 20.51 then to 20.39, but exploded in long course at the Russian championships at the start of April. He broke the Russian record with a 21.11 in the semi-finals there, before lowering it yet further to 21.06 in the final – while breathing four times.
That is a mark that only two people have beaten in textile – Cam McEvoy and Caeleb Dressel, and is the second-fastest time in the world this year. With Cam McEvoy at #1, he is the fastest European and ahead of the #2 European Sean Niewold by a full half second. Kornev was right on his PBs at worlds last summer, and he has a big margin of error in this event. He is the heavy, heavy favorite.
Behind him are a pair of swimmers who have broken out at the top level a little later in their careers. Sean Niewold has been a consistent presence in Dutch sprinting over the past few seasons but was never really in a position to challenge for international finals. His PB in this event prior to this season was just 21.99, a solid time but not one that would make him a medal contender.
Even last winter, he missed the semi -inals at the European Short Course championships, placing 19th in 21.37, but then posted times of 21.92 and 21.76 at the Pro Swim Series in May. He sliced off another two tenths at the start of July, swimming 21.56 and 21.60 at Dutch Trials and breaking Thom de Boer’s national record in the process. If there’s anyone in the field coming in bang in form, it’s Niewold.
Sean NIEWOLD (Photo by Patrick B. Kraemer / MAGICPBK)
The second of the pair is Serbia’s Andrej Barna, who like Niewold has a spell in the NCAA behind him. Whereas Niewold spent just a single season at Alabama in the year just gone, Barna was at Louisville from 2018-2023, qualifying for multiple NCAA championships but never did more than make the occasional semi-final internationally.
That all changed in 2024, when he qualified for the final at the Doha world championships, won European bronze in the 100 free, and anchored Serbia to European 4×100 free gold in a wickedly-fast 46.86. Since then, somewhat surprisingly, he has shifted focus away from the 100 free and onto the 50, but that move has more than paid off.
He sliced nearly half a second off his best last season, going from 21.93 to 21.44, and placed 6th at the World Championships in 21.60, although he was 21.44 and 21.45 in the earlier rounds. He has been in similar form so far this season, and is the third-fastest European man so far this season with a 21.57.
Barna will come into this meet as something of a medal favorite, a tag that he has not had to deal with much in his career internationally. Arguably he had an outside shot at a medal last summer, but this time he is the man in control of his destiny. If he swims at his best, he makes the top three. If he falters slightly in the final, the field behind is close enough that he could quickly fall down the ranks.
Maxime Grousset (photo: Jack Spitser)
Maxime Grousset is somewhat of a wildcard, having injured his foot in mid-June and missing the French Elite Championships. His recovery timetable did give him time to get back to training before Europeans, but he will be on a compressed schedule. At his best he is a medal contender, and was just 0.05 seconds off his PB earlier this season with a 21.62 that ranks him 4th coming into this meet. However, how quickly he will round back into form is not yet apparent, and his focus will undoubtedly be the sprint fly events in which he is the reigning world champion.
NCAA Talents From Across The Pond
Jere Hribar and Nikita Sheremet both had impressive summers last year. Hribar set a Croatian record of 47.93 in the 100 free and lowered his PB in the 50 to 21.79, rebounding after just missing the Olympic Games in 2024. Sheremet, still a junior last year, won the World Junior title in 21.75, matching Michael Andrew’s World junior record. Their paths crossed at the European Short Course Championships last December, when Hribar won the 50 free in another Croatian record of 20.70, a tenth ahead of Sheremet’ 20.81. Incidentally, that was another World junior record for the Ukrainian, and lowered Andrii Govorov’s national record.
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