By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
2026 European Swimming Championships
August 10-16, 2026 Paris, France — Olympic Aquatics Centre LCM (50 Meters) Meet Information Meet Central Entries SwimSwam Preview IndexWomen’s 50 Breaststroke: By the Numbers
World Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2023 European Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2023 Championships Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato (ITA), 2021 2025 World Champion: 29.55 – Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) 2022 European Champion: 29.59 – Ruta Meilutyte (LTU)Looming Large
Ruta Meilutyte has won four World titles in a row in the women’s 50 breaststroke, and the event is hers to lose at the European Championships this summer.
The world record holder in the event, Meilutyte’s break and return to swimming has been covered in depth numerous times. She won the Olympic gold medal in the 100 breaststroke at just 15 years old back in 2012 before she did not race for three years from the 2018 World SC Championships until the Lithuanian Championships in December of 2021. She returned to international competition in 2022 with a renewed focus on the 50 breaststroke, and she has been the swimmer to beat for years now.
She has not swum the event in 2026, but she is the top seed with the 29.54 she set in the semifinals at the 2025 World Championships. She recently finished 2nd in the event at the SC European Championships to Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova, but she has proven time and again that she can get her hands on the wall first in long course.
The Other Sub-30s
Italy’s Benedetta Pilato is the only person in the field who has been under 30 seconds this season, and she is the 2nd fastest European in history with the 29.30 she swam at the 2021 European Championships. Her season best time stands at 29.93, which she swam in June.
Pilato is one of the swimmers who could challenge Meilutyte for the title. She won the bronze medal in Singapore, finishing in 30.14 to come in just behind China’s Tang Qianting.
Eneli Jefimova, from Estonia, is the 3rd seed and the reigning SC Champion. Her lifetime best stands at 29.83 from April of 2025. So far this season, she has been 30.26, which she set at the Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis.
Jefimova had a very strong SCY season for NC State, winning the women’s 100 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships and swimming 25.81 on the breaststroke leg, the 4th fastest breaststroke leg in the field. She has only been under 30 twice, and both were at the same meet in April of 2025 with her lifetime best standing at 29.83.
The final athlete in the field who has been under 30 is Russia’s Yuliya Efimova. Her lifetime best is 29.52 from August of 2013, but she hasn’t been under 30 seconds in the event since 2019. Her fastest time in 2025 is 30.73 and in 2026 is 30.55. She will be a finals threat, but likely won’t earn a medal.
The Droppers
In any 50, the entry list is close, and that is absolutely the case in the women’s 50 breaststroke with 10 swimmers coming in within three tenths of each other.
Anna Elendt leads that charge in 30.17, which she set at the 2025 World Championships to finish 4th in the prelims. Her season best is 30.54 from April of 2026. Her lifetime best is 30.12 from the 2022 World Championships
Italy’s Anita Bottazzo and Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko both fall in that range, and they had strong NCAA seasons. In the 200 medley relays, Gorbenko split 25.44, the fastest in the NCAA field, and Bottazzo was 25.69, which was 3rd.
Bottazzo is seeded at 30.20, which she swam in April, but her lifetime best is 30.02 from the 2023 World Championships. She finished 7th at last summer’s World Championships.
Gorbenko sits at 30.30 from the 2025 Worlds, which is her lifetime best. Her season best is 30.73 from May, and she was 6th at the World Championships in Singapore.
Finland’s Veera Kivirinta is the final swimmer in the event who qualified for the final at the World Championships last summer. She is seeded in 30.26, a lifetime best that she set in May at the AP Race in London. Her fastest swim in Singapore was the 30.37 she swam in the semifinal to qualify 8th overall. She ended up swimming 30.68 in the final to finish 8th. Belgium’s Florine Gaspard is seeded in the same lifetime best time of 30.26, which she set in May as well.
Poland’s Barbara Mazurkiewicz is seeded in 30.22, which she set at the World Championships last summer in the prelims. Her season best is 30.62 from April of 2026 at the Swim Open in Stockholm. This is just faster than 30.63 she had swum by this time last season, and if she has a strong semifinals swim, she could easily end up in the final.
Lisa Angolini (ITA), Ralina Giliazova (NAB), Mona McSharry (IRL), and Silje Slngstadli (NOR) are all potential finalists as well, and will be relying on strong semifinals swims to put them into finals position with the meet being so close.
The Verdict
As stated above, the 50 breaststroke is Ruta Meilutyte’s to lose. She is the four-time World Champion, and has beaten every swimmer in the field on numerous occasions.
Benedetta Pilato is one of the fastest 50 breaststrokers in the world, and should be a solid bet for the silver medal, whlie Eneli Jefimova feels like a strong bet for 3rd.
Place Athlete Country Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Ruta Meilutyte LTU N/A 29.16 2 Benedetta Pilato ITA 29.83 29.30 3 Eneli Jefimova EST 30.26 29.83 4 Anita Bottazzo ITA 30.20 30.02 5 Barbara Mazurkiewicz POL 30.62 30.22 6 Anastasia Gorbenko ISR 30.73 30.30 7 Florine Gaspard BEL 30.26 30.26 8 Veera Kivirinta FIN 30.26 30.26Dark Horse: Alina Zmushka (BLR/NAA) – Zmushka has a lifetime best of 30.43 from April of 2022, which would put her in stronger contention to final than the 30.70 she swam in April. She has been strong in the 100 and 200 breaststroke over the last few seasons, and if some of that speed translates down, she could earn a surprise finals swim.
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