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 100 FREESTYLE
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, 3:12.90A Repeat of 2021?
Five years ago the podium featured Russia, Great Britain, and Italy, and they look to be the frontrunners again half a decade on.
Italy won silver in a new national record of 3:09.58 at the World Championships last summer, continuing a streak of five years in a row in which they have won a world or Olympic medal. That was their first-ever swim under 3:10, but it will be tough to replicate the three 47-low splits that powered them to that performance.
Carlos D’Ambrosio led off in 47.78 last year, and has already been 47.83 this year, but no other Italian has been under 48.4 this season. Lorenzo Zazzeri, Manuel Frigo, Thomas Ceccon, and Alessandro Miressi have all split 47-low in the past but until last season Italy hadn’t managed to have all three flying splits fully firing in the same relay.
They should still be the class of the field in Paris. This relay has become a staple for the Italians, and their swimmers regularly swim above themselves on it. Lorenzo Ballarati has dropped to 48.64 this season and adds another depth piece for them, and D’Ambrosio plus three 47-mid splits almost certainly equals gold.
The nation who will challenge them the most will be Russians, in the form of Neutral Athletes B. In Egor Kornev (46.96) they have the fastest man in Europe this season, while Ivan Girev (47.63), Kliment Kolesnikov (47.95) and Andrei Minakov (48.01) make this a quartet full of experience.
This team hasn’t always delivered when it counted however. They missed the final at the World Championships last summer as Kolesnikov led off in 48.59, and they were poor at the Tokyo Olympics having come in as one of the favorites. Their junior team did throw down a huge new World Junior record of 3:12.75 at the European Junior Championships last month though, with anchor leg Mikhail Shcherbakov, who split 47.60, also on the team for this meet.
The St Petersburg team posted a time of 3:11.82 at the Russian Championships in June, with only Egor Kornev out of the likely finals quartet part of that team. That should be the benchmark for Russia, and Aleksandr Shchegolev and Vasiliy Kukushkin from that relay will be in attendance in Paris if required.
At their absolute best, this would be a title-winning relay. Girev split 47.08 on the mixed 4×100 free relay last summer, Kolesnikov owns a PB of 47.11 from the Tokyo Olympics, and Minakov was 47.57 at the 2021 European Championships. The issue has been consistency, and Italy’s experience and ability to get the best out of their quartet probably edges it this year.
Great Britain are a rung below the top two, but should be strong enough to make it onto the podium. In Matt Richards and Jacob Mills they have two 47-mid swimmers this season, and Gabriel Shepherd, Tom Dean, Duncan Scott, and Jacob Whittle all split 47-point at the Commonwealth Games.
Great Britain’s issue in recent years has been the same as Russia’s: consistency. They set a national record of 3:10.73 at the World Championships last summer in what was their best performance over the last half decade, but they should have won the world title in 2023 and were below-par at the 2024 Olympics. Even on that relay last summer, Jacob Mills was half a second off his best on the leadoff.
The recent Commonwealth Games temper expectations slightly as well. Scott looked off his best as he went through the week despite a 47.48 split on the first day, and he will need to be in 47-low shape for this team to contend for gold. Richards (47.53) and Mills (47.72) should be a strong core, but even though Shepherd and Whittle split 47.7s last month, they don’t have the necessary 47-low splits they need to challenge for gold.
Dean had a pair of 46-point anchors in 2022, but his best split at the Commonwealth Games was 47.99. This could be an elite relay in a year or two, but making the podium seems a realistic goal for this year.
Spoiling The Party?
Spain and Germany have both either made or been on the cusp of world or Olympic finals recently, and this season look in better shape than ever. Either one could be a real threat to the three teams above.
Spain were only 16th at the World Championships last summer in 3:14.34, but were just off making the final at the Olympics the year before as they posted a national record of 3:13.19. They have only brought four 100 freestylers with them to Paris, but a new Spanish record and a spot in the final should be the minimum expectation.
Luca Hoek Le Guenedal lowered the Spanish record in the 100 free to 47.72 at Spanish Trials in June, half a second faster than Sergio De Celis Montalben’s 48.24 mark set last summer. Cesar Castro Valle joined Le Guenedal under 48 seconds with a new best of 47.98, and Miguel Perez Godoy notched a PB of 48.38. Add in De Montalben, and at its best this relay could feature four 47-point legs.
Germany are missing Rafael Miroslaw, who split 47.87 in 2024 and 48.32 last summer, but return Joshua Salchow, Kaii Winkler, and Luca Armbruster. That is a strong core, with Salchow owning the German record at 47.80 and Winkler splitting 47.52 last summer as well as lowering his flat start best from 48.41 to 48.16 this season.
Armbruster split 48.84 at the 2025 World Championships, but was 48.29 the year before at the Olympics. Julian Koch will probably be the fourth member of this team, and has a lifetime best of 48.57 from last summer. He didn’t swim at the German Championships, but had a phenomenal season in the NCAA and could be the piece to elevate Germany into medal contention.
Springing A Surprise
Lithuania were surprise finalists at the World Championships last summer, setting a new national record of 3:12.74 to edge out Russia, and were only a tenth slower in the final in a time of 3:12.84. All four swimmers return and they should be able to replicate their performance, if not better it.
Tajus Juska, Tomas Navikonis, Tomas Lukminas, and Danas Rapsys were those swimmers, with the middle two splitting 47.47 and 47.83 in the heats. The first three of those have been 48-point this season, while Rapsys is a somewhat volatile swimmer but should be able to throw down a 48-low split as he did in the final last summer. A time in the 3:12s is eminently achievable, but that may not be enough for the final this year
Croatia just missed the podium in 4th two years ago, but have a star in Jere Hribar and some solid-looking depth. Hribar owns the national record in the 100 free thanks to a 47.93 leadoff on this relay last summer and has already been 48.06 this season, and he will be joined by three of Toni Dragoja, Nikola Miljenic, Vlaho Nenadic, Luka Cvetko, and Vili Sivec.
Miljenic has a best of 48.13, while Dragoja split 48.11 at the 2024 European Championships and won bronze at the European U23 Championships last summer in 48.67. Nenadic’s best of 48.80 is from the 2024 World Junior Championships, but he was right on it with a 48.82 split at the 2025 World Championships, and Cvetko and Sivec have PBs in the 49-low range.
The Netherlands have been missing an elite 100 freestyler recently, but, with Sean Niewold‘s emergence as a 47.80 swimmer this year, could challenge for the final again. The depth is a little ropy though, with Merlin Belmon (48.90), Brendon Van Den Berg (49.03) and Floris Tanis (49.47) the likely quartet, and it will take drops from at least a couple of those if they are to make the most of Niewold. They probably have a better chance in the mixed 4×100 free relay than this one.
Question Marks
France has not been competitive in this relay recently, and have more question marks this year than anyone else in the field. Maxime Grousset has returned from his recent foot injury and is by far France’s best 100 freestyler, but it remains to be seen what kind of form he is in. Their second-fastest swimmer this season is Cedric Gabali at 48.82, followed by Nanz Mazellier (48.88) and 17-year-old Sauveur Cristofini (48.99). The depth doesn’t look to be there to even make the final, although a rogue Leon Marchand appearance could make this interesting. He has a best of 49.70 and hasn’t mentioned swimming this relay in the same way he has with the 4×200, but we can dream.
Hungary would rely on national record holder Kristof Milak, who almost certainly will not be swimming relays at the meet. Nandor Nemeth, Sebastian Szabo, and Hubert Kos are three solid-to-strong legs, although Kos may skip this event with the 50 back semi-final and 100 back final in the same evening session. His brother Oliver set a best of 49.53 this season, and Adam Jaszo split 48.4 on two occasions in 2024, so this relay could still contend for the final even without their two stars.
Greece won bronze two years ago and return three of their four legs, but don’t have anyone capable of replicating Kristian Gkolomeev‘s 48.04 split. If they swim, they probably miss out on the final. The 2024 silver medalists, Poland, have a better chance of qualifying, but are also missing a 48-point split on Dominik Dudys with no obvious replacement on their roster.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Place Nation Season Best Add-Up 2024 Result 1 Italy 3:13.30 – 2 NAB 3:10.65 – 3 Great Britain 3:12.13 11th 4 Spain 3:13.03 – 5 Germany 3:15.15 6th 6 Croatia 3:16.97 4th 7 Lithuania 3:16.19 – 8 Hungary 3:16.04 –Dark Horse – Serbia
Serbia won gold at the European Championships four years ago, but that was largely down to a 47.99 leadoff from Velimir Stjepanovic and a massive 46.86 anchor leg from Andrej Barna. Stjepanovic has only been under 48.50 on two further occasions, and has not broken 50 seconds yet this season, and Barna has shifted away from the 100 to dial in on the 50, which is his only individual entry for the second summer in a row. However, Stjepanovic split 48.10 at the World Championships, and 19-year-old Justin Cvetkov anchored in 48.07, 1.34 seconds faster than he split in 2024. Luka Jovanovic, who replaced Barna on this relay last year, is not on the roster, and there is no real replacement for him other than Barna. This is the only relay Serbia have entered, and they could quite easily be in the 3:12s again and challenging the likes of Spain and Germany.
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