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 – WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE
World Record: 23.55 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023) European Record: 23.55 – Anastasia Zuyeva, Russia (2009) Championship Record: 2:06.08 – Margerita Panziera, Italy (2021) 2025 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2:03.33 2024 European Champion: Camila Rebelo (POR), 2:08.95The women’s 200 back has been the stronghold of the Americans and Australians in recent years, but even so, the strength of the European field this year is not of the vintage of previous years
Just four women entered at this meet are under 2:09.50 so far this season, with no one under 2:08.50. This event really is wide open for those four, none of whom have won a European title so far in their career.
A Quartet Of Contenders
Katie Shanahan leads the way among European women so far this season, having notched a season-best time of 2:08.54 to win silver at the Commonwealth Games last month. That is a little off the 2:07.91 she clocked in April of last year, but still ranks as the 9th-fastest of her career.
Shanahan made the final at the World Championships in 2023 (4th) and the 2024 Olympic Games (5th) but has not lowered her PB of 2:07.45 in the three years since the first of those two finals. However, she is in much better form this summer than she was 12 months ago, when she bowed out in the heats at the World Championships in 2:09.96.
She has two 2:08-point swims to her name in the last two months, and for the third time in four years has dropped time at a major summer meet. Shanahan already has one medal this year, but a second could see her win her first international title.
One swimmer hoping to also win a first international title is French swimmer Bertille Cousson. She is the second-fastest swimmer so far this season in 2:08.67 and has had some major drops already this year to drop from 2:10.89 to 2:08.67.
She won bronze at the European U23 Championships last summer in 2:11.65, nearly a second off her season best, but that was her first senior international meet. Cousson has been a little more reserved with her in-season swims, with only one under 2:12 this season, but she may be saving the heat for this meet. She seems like a solid choice to make the podium, as the only one of these four to set a lifetime best this season.
She will have to overcome the returning bronze medalist Eszter Szabo-Feltothy to make it onto the podium, however. The Hungarian swimmer clocked 2:09.21 in the final two years ago, a quarter of a second off gold, and has been 2:09.38 so far this season. Her lifetime best of 2:08.55 comes from 2023, but she is the only one of these four who has won a long course European medal.
She notched her season best time in the heats at the Hungarian Championships, and was over a second slower in the final. She was another two seconds slower at 2:12.54 at the Dutch Championships in early July, and seems to be trending in the wrong direction to peak at this meet. Szabo-Feltothy added time to finish 23rd at the World Championships last summer, and she will not be in the medal hunt if she does so again.
The fourth and final swimmer in this group is Spain’s Estella Tonrath, who set the Spanish record last June with a 2:08.03 at the Spanish Championships. She went on to win gold at the European Junior Championships in 2:10.02 then place 12th at the World Championships in 2:09.84.
Tonrath just missed the final at the European Short Course Championships in a time of 2:06.54, and was 2:09.17 in long course at Spanish Trials, nearly two seconds faster than she had been on the Mare Nostrum tour earlier in the season. With a year of experience under her belt, she could be a medal challenger if she drops down to near her best.
Podium Potential?
Pauline Mahieu is more of a 100 backstroker, but swam a season best time of 2:10.44 at the Giant Open in March and has a lifetime best of 2:08.28 from the French Championships last year. She has been 2:02.85 in short course, and won bronze at the European Short Course Championships in December with a time of 2:03.02. Mahieu did add significant time at the World Championships last year, placing 24th in 2:12.33, but looks to have paced herself better this season if she swims the event.
Hungary has a second swimmer with designs on the podium, with 17-year-old Viktoria Kokas Fanni coming in having won gold at the European Junior Championships in 2:10.76. She has already dropped nearly four seconds this season from her previous best of 2:14.44, but did add multiple seconds to miss the semi-finals at the World Junior Championships last year in 2:18.20.
She does have swims of 2:12.47 and 2:11.48 as well this season, so a trip to the final in Paris remains a real possibility, but she will need to continue dropping time to be a real contender.
France also has a second swimmer in finals contention in 16-year-old Jeanne LeChavalier. She clocked 2:10.01 at the Giant Open in March, and tied Kokas Fanni for gold at the European Junior Championships in 2:10.76. She has dropped a couple of seconds from the 2:12.04 she swam at the French Elite Championships last season and won silver at the European Junior Championships in the 100 back last season, so already has international experience despite her age.
Camila Rebelo is yet to race the 200 back in long course this season, but the Portuguese swimmer has had a strong last couple of years. She won gold at the 2024 European Championships in 2:08.95, which stands as her lifetime best, finished 9th at the World Championships last summer in 2:09.40, and placed 4th at the European Short Course Championships in December in 2:03.51. It is a little unclear what kind of form she will be in though, having seemingly focused on freestyle and the 400 IM at recent meets.
Lise Seidel is another swimmer whose season best time belies her likely performance in Paris. She has been just 2:12.29 so far this season, but was a finalist at the European Short Course Championships in December and placed 8th in the final at the World Championships last summer.
She clocked a personal best of 2:08.75 in the semi-finals in Singapore, but that is her only swim under 2:10 and she added six seconds at the European U23 Championships last summer before the World Championships. She could be in the mix for the podium, or she could be fighting towards the back of the final.
Looking For Final Spots
Laura Bernat and Adela Piskorska clocked 2:11.53 and 2:10.82, respectively, at the Malmstein Swim Open in April, but have been faster in previous seasons. Bernat set the Polish record of 2:08.96 at the 2023 World Championships, but placed 11th at the 2024 European Championships in 2:13.40 and has not been under 2:10 since clocking 2:09.92 at the 2024 World Championships.
Piskorska won European U23 bronze in 2:11.50 last summer before placing 6th at the World University Games in 2:10.19, but like Bernat has not broken 2:10 since setting her lifetime best of 2:09.40 in April 2023.
Both of them added significantly at the Barcelona stop of the Mare Nostrum, with Piskorska clocking 2:15.84 and Bernat slightly behind in 2:16.54. Both have the capability of making the final, but neither looks in the best form right now.
Yet another Junior in Spain’s Sara Costa de Civente will be in this field, having posted a time of 2:11.45 at Spanish Trials in June. She placed 6th at the European Junior Championships last month in 2:12.43, and was a finalist in the 100 back at that meet last year.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Place Name Nation Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Katie Shanahan GBR 2:08.54 2:07.45 2 Estella Tonrath ESP 2:09.17 2:08.02 3 Bertille Cousson FRA 2:08.67 2:08.67 4 Lise Seidel GER 2:12.29 2:08.75 5 Camila Rebelo POR – 2:08.95 6 Jeanne LeChavalier FRA 2:10.01 2:10.01 7 Eszter Szabo-Feltothy Hun 2:09.38 2:08.55 8 Adela Piskorska POL 2:10.82 2:09.40Dark Horse – Ellen Walshe (IRL)
Walshe has been a fantastic IM swimmer for years, but backstroke was not a stroke she has previously pursued. She has tried the 200 back on for size recently, setting a new Irish record of 2:09.88 in the heats of the Irish Championships last month and promptly lowering it again to 2:09.69. She ranks 6th this season among European women, but if – and it’s a big if – she swims then she will be a real threat.
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