By Terin Frodyma 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 200 IM
World Record: 1:52.69 – Leon Marchand, France (2025) European Record: 1:52.69 – Leon Marchand, France (2025) Championship Record: 1:56.66 – Laszlo Cseh, Hungary (2012) 2025 World Champion: 1:53.68 – Leon Marchand, France 2024 European Champion: 1:57.21 – Hubert Kos, HungaryThe men’s 200 IM, which played host to one of the top performances ever in a pool last summer in Singapore when Leon Marchand demolished the World Record in the semifinals of the World Championships in 1:52.69, will have a bit of a different outlook when it comes to the upcoming European Championships, as the re aggravated injury of his hip adductor in training camp could open the door for a different favorite, such as the 2024 European Champion Hubert Kos.
The “Big Dogs”
Marchand, who pulled out of the French National Championships in late June due to pain he felt in his hip during the 200 breast. Despite the injury, Marchand, who already has hinted at not racing the 400 IM, could potentially choose to focus on the freestyle and butterfly events. But for the sake of him not yet announcing whether or not he would race this event in Paris, we will factor him in here.
There is a sizeable gap between Marchand and anybody else in history in this event (1.31 seconds to be exact), and the same goes for the competition at these championships. Marchand’s World Record time of 1:52.69 sits well over two seconds faster than both Duncan Scott‘s and Hubert Kos‘ lifetime best performances. This season, Marchand has only been as fast as 1:57.28, which came at the Fort Lauderdale Open in May, which puts him in a tie for the 14th fastest performer in the world this season.
Even when not in tip-top form, Marchand is a serious threat in between the lane lines. His mind-bending world record in this race will likely be out of reach given his current status. But as long as he takes the blocks, Marchand’s versatility and pure race ability will keep him firmly in contention for yet another international gold.
Whether the hometown hero races or not, Hubert Kos will look to spoil the party for the Frenchman, entering these championships with the fastest time in the world this season in 1:55.50, which he swam in December at the US Open in Austin. Kos will seemingly have a lot on his plate throughout this meet, as the favorite in both backstroke events and his likely inclusion on several Hungarian relays; this could be one of his biggest tests of the meet.
Kos comes into these European Championships as the reigning European Champion from 2024, and the bronze medalist in Singapore last summer at the World Championships. His lifetime best came in that bronze medal effort last summer in 1:55.34, and considering he has been within two tenths of that already this season, he could be saving up a big swim that could potentially crack 1:55, which would put him with elite company if he was able to do so.
Of the biggest contenders, the name Duncan Scott must be mentioned, entering this meet as the Commonwealth Games Champion with a finals swim of 1:56.38, and as the 9th fastest performer in history with a career best of 1:55.28; he clearly deserves a mention alongside Marchand and Kos. Scott currently ranks 4th in the world this season with his 1:56.08 from the Aquatics GB Championships in April.
The 200 IM for Scott has never warranted him a medal at the long course European Championships, though he is a two-time Olympic Silver medalist and a one-time World silver medalist in the event. The now 29-year-old can still keep up with the younger bucks in the event. He swam a 1:55.51 in the semifinals of the World Championships last season. If he can replicate a similar time in Paris, he should be able to lock up his first long-course European Championships medal in this event in his career.
Potential Podium Stealers
A pair of Russian talents could potentially make a big move into the top of the 200 IM conversation in Mikhail Scherbakov and Ilya Borodin. Both swimmers are among the top 20 performers in the world this season, with Shcherbakov coming in at 10th with his 1:57.07 that he swam last month at the European Junior Championships and Borodin at 16th in 1:57.24 from the Russian Swimming Championships.
Scherbakov notched a lifetime best in the event at the European Junior Championships, later going 1:58.12 in the final to win gold in the event. At only 18, he will undoubtedly be one of the youngest swimmers in the event. If he can replicate, or potentially surpass, that swim from the European Junior Championships, he could find himself in position to take a spot on the podium against some major international superstars.
Borodin notched that 1:57.24 in the final of the 200 IM at a very fast Russian National Championships, though he holds a lifetime best of 1:56.75 from the Russia Cup in July of 2024. With that swim being the closest he has gotten to touching that lifetime best in nearly two years, and already securing a pair of national championship titles of his own this season, a lifetime best does not seem too farfetched for the talented Borodin, who should also be able to contend well in the 400 IM at these championships.
Russia is not the only country coming in with multiple threats to the final, as Jacopo Barbotti and Alberto Razzetti, who finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, at the Italian National in April, both come into these championships separated by one hundredth of a second in 1:57.75 and 1:57.76.
Barbotti took the win in Riccione in April in an upset win over the National Record holder in Razzetti, becoming just the 2nd Italian ever to crack 1:58 in the event, though coming into the meet, his best time sat at 2:00.21, first breaking the 2:00 barrier in the prelims in 1:59.50, then destroying that to take down Razzetti in the final. For the first time in history, Italy has two sub-1:58 second 200 IMers, though the leader up to this point has not been the mainstay of Razzetti.
Though he couldn’t nab the national title in the event in Riccione, Razzetti still holds a very accomplished resume in the 200 IM, including three World Championship medals in this event (one silver, two bronze), and a pair of European Championship medals as well (one silver, one bronze). The 27-year-old is among the older competitors in this otherwise youthful event. However, his career best still puts him high on the all-time performers list, coming in at 23rd all-time with a 1:56.21 from the 2023 Italian National Championships. If he can rekindle the flame of the past, he could surely find himself in contention with the favorites in the final.
Another name that could very well find himself in the conversation come the event’s end is Great Britain’s Tom Dean, who is coming off a 3rd place finish at the Commonwealth Games in the 200 IM, touching in 1:57.22 in the finals. In 2023, Dean blasted a 1:56.07 career best at the World Championships in Fukuoka to earn a bronze behind Marchand and Scott. His ability to flat-out race is world-class, though he has been a bit all over the place in this event since going that best time in 2023; he has only been under 1:59 two times since, one of those being the Commonwealth Games, the other was the Olympic Games (in Paris), in 1:56.46, finishing 5th.
Comparing to 2024 (Euro Champs) and 2025 (World Champs)
Kos will be looking to defend his title from the 2024 European Championships, when he finished in 1:57.21; he was followed closely by Israel’s Ron Polonsky in 1:57.36, though he has not raced since July of 2025. The rest of the top five from that final, which included Turkey’s Berke Saka (1:58.62), Hungary’s Dominik Torok (1:58.89), and Switzerland’s Jeremy Desplanches (1:59.04), made for a pretty clear two-person battle for Kos and Polonsky.
Looking at the following year’s World Championships, only three Europeans made the championship final: Marchand (1st, 1:53.68), Kos (3rd, 1:55.34), and Scott (1:56.32). This clash of the titans is on a crash course to repeat itself, with a solid chance of those three athletes (assuming Marchand opts to race the 200 IM) claiming the medals on the podium.
The mix of experience and youthful talent could make for not only an entertaining clash, but a fast one at that. In 2024 at the European Championships, only six of the eight championship finalists managed to crack 2:00 in the final, while this one may see each of the top eight, whoever they may be, break 1:59.
SwimSwam’s Picks:
Place Name Nation Season best Lifetime Best 1 Leon Marchand FRA 1:57.28 1:52.69 2 Hubert Kos HUN 1:55.50 1:55.34 3 Duncan Scott GBR 1:56.08 1:55.28 4 Ilya Borodin RUS 1:57.24 1:56.75 5 Alberto Razzetti ITA 1:57.76 1:56.21 6 Tom Dean GBR 1:57.22 1:56.07 7 Jacopo Barbotti ITA 1:57.75 1:57.75 8 Mikhail Scherbakov RUS 1:57.07 1:57.07Dark Horse – Hugo Gonzalez (ESP)
It is an odd feeling listing someone who has won both short- and long-course European Championship gold in this event, though in the case of Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez, that happens to be the case. His lifetime best of 1:56.31 is hard to shy away from, nor should you. This season, he has been as fast as 1:58.87, which came in May at Brazilian National in Rio. Similar to Razzetti, if he can turn back the clock, he will surely be a contender and a threat to make some noise in the championship final.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 European Championships Previews: Marchand Still King of 200 IM, Kos and Scott Look to Spoil Party
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