By Mark Wild on SwimSwam
2026 European Aquatics Championships
Pool Swimming – August 10-16, 2026 Paris, France — Olympic Aquatics Centre LCM (50 Meters) Meet Information Meet Central SwimSwam Preview Index EntriesBY THE NUMBERS – Women’s 4×100 Free Relay
World Record: 3:27.96 – Australia (O’Callaghan, Jack, Harris, McKeon), 2023 European Record: 3:31.72 – Netherlands (Dekker, Kromowidjojo, Heemskerk, Veldhuis), 2009 Championship Record: 3:33.62 – Netherlands (Dekker, Kromowidjojo, Heemskerk, Veldhuis), 2008 2025 World Champion: Australia (O’Callaghan, Harris, Jansen, Wunsch) – 3:30.60 2024 European Champion: Hungary (Senanszky, Abraham, Ugrai, Padar) – 3:36.77With only 12 teams entering the Women’s 4×100 free relay, one should not expect teams to be going all out in the prelims, which, while it may seem to be pro forma for top nations, it means the final will absolutely thrilling as big time drops will likely come from all of the teams as they bring in their big stars to fight for a spot on the podium. Two years ago, in Belgrade, we saw this very thing play out as Hungary cut nearly six seconds from their prelims time of 3:42.04 to earn the gold in a new national record of 3:36.77. Ahead of the Danes (3:38.48) and the Poles (3:41.01), the latter of whom took it easy in the morning, finishing sixth before cutting over three seconds at night to earn the bronze.
Both Hungary and Poland return this year but will be hard-pressed to earn a repeat trip to the podium. The reigning gold medalists return their entire squad of Minna Abraham, Petra Senanszky, Panna Ugrai and Nikolett Padar, a quartet that last year yet again lowered their national record, going 3:36.34 at Worlds. Unfortunately for them, they placed 8th in the final in Singapore, behind the Dutch, French, Neutral Athletes B and Italians, all of whom were a full second ahead of them in the final. With five nations from the final of the World Championships topping the field in Paris this year, expect things to be much faster, especially from the Dutch team, who have not only the world’s best to anchor them, but will also be looking to erase some unhappy memories, as they failed to make the Olympic final in this pool two years ago.
“Radar Love”
The last time the Dutch missed the Olympic final in the 4×100 free relay was back in 1968. The Games, held in Mexico City, saw the team from the Netherlands place 9th overall, a feat they equaled two years ago in Paris. However, like in the early 1970s, the Dutch quickly rebounded last year, and with massive time drops and key additions, they produced a bronze-medal-winning effort at Worlds. In Singapore, the quartet of Milou van Wijk, Tessa Giele, Sam van Nunen and Marrit Steenbergen earned a spot on the podium with a result of 3:33.89.
Van Wijk, the new face on the relay, produced a solid 53.27 lead-off leg that had the Dutch make the first exchange in 3rd, but the middle two legs saw the European record holders slip down to 5th, then to 8th, before the anchor Steenbergen dove in. The 2024 Doha World Champion, Steenbergen, passed five other teams over the course of the last leg, splitting an eye-watering 51.64 to earn the bronze medal. Her split, the fastest in the field, ended up being nearly a full second faster than her winning time in the 100 a few days later, as she defended her title with a 52.55.
This difference of .91 should not be overlooked, as Steenbergen has made her winning time from 12 months ago look pedestrian. Over the course of this season, she bettered that time, going 52.33 at the Bergen Swim Festival back in April. That time now appears as just a blip on her record as she went 51.86, 51.97, and 52.13 at the three Mare Nostrum stops, before going hypersonic at the Sette Colli Meet, breaking the world record with a new mark of 51.68. After a casual 51.82 at her trials, Steenbergen now owns three of the fastest five performances in the event and was the lone swimmer with multiple performances under 52.00, until Anna Moesch did so last week.
How does this relate to her relay performance? Remember that differential between her split and winning time, of .91? If it is subtracted from her new personal best, then the Dutchwoman could be as fast as 50.77, well under Cate Campbell’s 50.93 from the 2018 Pan-Pacs. To be fair, her winning time from Singapore was not her PB, so a near full second drop may be unlikely, but Campbell’s PB was 52.03, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. That said, Steenbergen is just a quarter of the relay team, and likely would not be able to hold sub-52.00 pace over a 400.
Van Wijk returns from Singapore after finishing 4th in the final (.02 off the medals) and looks to be in good form this year. She posted a 53.63 in Eindhoven at the start of July, and while she ranks 22nd in the World this calendar year, she is ranked 4th among Europeans, and with her PB sitting at 52.91, the 21-year-old could soon join the ranks of the great Dutch sprinters like Inge Dekker and Ranomi Kromowidjojo. Two new legs are likely set to join the pair as Imani de Jong and Yara van Kalmthout set personal bests of 54.20 and 54.36 at trials to place 3rd and 4th, beating out the likes of Tessa Giele (5th – 54.84) and Kim Busch (7th – 55.06).
On season bests alone, the four likely members (Steenbergen, van Wijk, de Jong and van Kalmthout) have a cumulative time of 3:33.87, a time that is .02 faster than their bronze medal-winning time from last season. With conservative relay exchanges of around 1.2 seconds (total), the Dutch should easily be in range of their 18-year-old Championships record and could possibly have the European record of 3:31.72 in their sights.
“Prisencolinensinainciusol”
As mentioned above, the Dutch were the fastest of the five European teams in Singapore last summer, and while they were over two seconds off their national record, the French, Neutral Athletes B (Russian nationals) and Italians all improved upon their national records, finishing 5th, 6th and 7th overall with just over half a second separating the trio.
The French, the fastest of three teams, posted a time of 3:34.62, taking .03 off their old mark, with Marie Wattel‘s anchor of 52.97 being just enough to hold off the fast-charging Daria Klepikova. Of the quartet from Singapore, only Marina Jehl (flying split of 54.12) is not returning, as Beryl Gastaldello, Albane Cachot, and Wattel are likely to be joined by Mary-Ambre Moluh. Moluh finished 3rd at the French Nationals, going 54.15, .05 off Gastaldello and .10 ahead of Cachot. Neither Wattel’s 53.96 winning time nor Moluh’s 54.15 was a personal best, but Moluh and Cachot were both within a tenth of their best.
If Gastaldello, who swam collegiately at Texas A&M, can get back to her PB from last year of 53.30 (6th in 100 free final at Worlds), then the French could be up in the medal conversation. They will have to ensure they are firing on all cylinders, however, because if they wish to appease the partisan Parisian crowd, then Moluh, who trains at Cal, and Cachot, who trains at ASU, will need to be faster than 54s, as both the NAB and Italians look very strong this season.
The Neutral Athletes B team (swimmers from Russia) finished just .07 back of the French last summer, hitting a new national record of 3:34.69 in the process. Klepikova anchored in 52.68 and nearly ran down Wattel, coming up just a few centimeters short. On the 2025 Mixed 4×100 Free Relay, where her team won silver, she split 52.42, helping her team set a new European record. This season, the 5th place finisher from the individual final last year (52.98), a race where she set another national record, has been as fast as 53.45 this season, a mark that is quicker than she was at this point last season, so her improvement could spell danger for the French.
The Neutral Athletes B do, however, have some worry as they appear to be without the services of Daria Trofimova. She led off their relay last year in Singapore in 53.77, but was 52.66 and 52.42 on their mixed medley and mixed free relays. She placed 7th at the Russian Championships in June, so her relay spot will likely be filled by the young Kira Manokhina. The 16-year-old set a personal best of 54.07 in the prelims of the Junior Europeans, and ultimately finished 2nd in a time of 54.37. Also looking to make an impact on the senior level is Kseniia Sorokina. Also 16, Sorokina owns a season best of 54.64, but was part of her nation’s World Junior record-setting mixed 4×100 free relay, where she split 53.75. The NAB team still has the services of Aleksanadra Kuznetsova, who has improved upon her 54.00 flying start from Singapore, with a 53.80 flat start at nationals, and could opt for Alina Gaifutdinova on the relay, as she was 54.24 last year and has nearly equaled that mark with a flat start of 54.26 at a meet in April.
Manokhina and Sorkina are not the lone swimmers making the trip from European Juniors to the big-time championships, as Alessandra Mao hopes to help Italy rewrite their one-year-old national record. Last summer, the team of Sara Curtis (53.29), Emma Menicucci (53.87), Chiara Tarantino (53.75) and Sofia Morini (54.27) produced a new best time of 3:35.18, finishing less than half a second behind the NAB team. The Italians were in 3rd after the 300, but paid for front-loading the relay as the Dutch, Chinese, French, and NAB teams all passed them.
This year, the Italians hope that 15-year-old Mao can help the team find a spot on the podium. She has already had a successful summer, winning the 100 free at the European Juniors, in a new personal best of 54.28. What’s more impressive and valuable for the Italians are her relay splits from the meet. She split a swift 53.58 on the mixed medley relay and was 53.70 on the mixed free relay.
Her addition, however, is not the lone bright spot for the Italians, as Sara Curtis has greatly improved upon her times from last summer. 8th in the individual final in Singapore, with a result of 53.41, the University of Virginia-trained swimmer has really come into her own this year. She took 3rd in the 100-yard free at the NCAA Championships in a time of 45.77, and in April went 53.40 in LCM back in Italy at a meet in Riccione. All of this was a preamble, however, for her performance at the Sette Colli meet. While the result may have been lost in the shuffle of Steenbergen’s swim, Curtis lowered her own national record in the 100 free, setting a new best of 52.69, a time that ties her as the 19th fastest performer of all time.
The 6th fastest performer this calendar year, and 2nd among Europeans, Curtis has the power to give the Italians a huge lead if she leads off, but will need help from Meniuccui and Tarantino to hold things together. Meniuccui set a new PB in the 100 at the Italian Nationals in Riccione, going 53.75, so looks to be an improvement from last season. Tarantino was 54.30 at the same meet, and is not far off her PB of 54.13, so could keep things close with the teams mentioned above.
France NAB Italy Wattel – 53.95 Klepikova – 53.45 Curtis – 52.69 Gastaldello – 54.05 Kuznetsova – 53.80 Menicucci – 53.75 Moluh – 54.15 Manokhina – 54.07 Mao – 54.28 Cachot – 54.25 Gaifutdinova – 54.26 Tarantino – 54.30 3:36.40 3:35.58 3:35.02In comparing only flat start times from this year, the Italians seem to flip the script from last year, as Curtis’s .60 improvement looks to give her nation the edge over the NAB team and the host French team. It will certainly be an interesting contest as both the Italians and NAB teams have the depth and options to play with prelims line-ups, whereas the French may not have the strength to rest their best legs, and they would certainly regret not making the final in front of a home crowd.
“We Are the Champions”
Hungary, the defending champions, return the entirety of their team from both the 2024 Championships as well as from Worlds last year, where they finished last in the final, albeit in a new national record of 3:36.34. Minna Abraham led off in 53.97, and Petra Senanszky had a strong split of 53.85, but neither of them has had a strong season this year. Abraham injured her finger this winter, needing surgery and derailing her NCAA training. In long course, she appears to have a season best of 55.45 from the Mare Nostrum Canet stop and was just 56.37 at Sette Colli. Senanszky, too, seems to be a little out of form. She placed 4th at nationals with a 55.40 and looks to have a season best of 55.35, also from Canet.
Ugrai won her nation’s nationals in 54.24, a new best, and a good chunk faster than her 54.51 split from last year, especially when you factor in a relay star. Padar, too, has had a strong season. She did not race at nationals, but built upon her strong NCAA season at Texas, placing 3rd in the 200 free, to hit a season best of 54.53 at the Fort Lauderdale Open. The pair and their improvement may not be enough to keep Hungary on the podium, as the team only has nine swimmers, with the four mentioned, their nation’s only real options for prelims swimmers.
While they have only three more swimmers, the team from Great Britain looks to be in a much better position to vie for a spot back on the podium. The 2020 (2021) and 2022 champions in this event, the British have a very strong roster that allows them to rest some swimmers for finals.
The loss of Eva Okaro to injury certainly is a big blow for their medal chances, but the young pair of newcomers could help rejuvenate the British, especially as they opted not to field a relay last summer in Singapore. The Brits didn’t contest the event at the 2024 European Championships, instead opting to focus all their attention on the Paris Olympics, where they finished 7th in a time of 3:35.25. However, with Okaro out, only Freya Anderson and her 53.24 anchor leg will return.
This season, Anderson is the nation’s 4th fastest 100 freestyler on the roster, having gone 54.05 in the prelims at the 2026 Aquatics GB Championship, but her experience racing will likely ensure her a spot in the relay. Likely joining her is her English Commonwealth Games teammate, Freya Colbert. Colbert, while more known for her 200 free and IM prowess, did go a personal best in April, hitting the wall in 54.02. The pair didn’t have exceptional individual swims at the Commonwealth Games, but did split 53.41 (Colbert) and 53.78 (Anderson) on the silver medal-winning 4×100 free relay.
Looking to fill the other two spots on the relay are actually the two fastest Brits on the roster, with Evelyn Davis and Theodora Taylor holding season bests of 53.99 and 54.00 respectively. The pair were both at the Commonwealth Games as well, representing Scotland and Wales respectively. The 21-year-old Davis finished 5th in the 100 free, going 54.40, one spot behind Taylor, who, at 17, took 4th in a new PB of 54.00. Taylor also had a massive relay split, recording a 52.63 monster of an anchor to help Wales win the bronze in the mixed 4×100 free relay.
Hungary Great Britain Ugrai – 54.24 Davis – 53.99 Padar – 54.53 Taylor – 54.00 Senanszky – 55.35 Colbert – 54.02 Abraham – 55.45 Anderson – 54.05 3:39.57 3:36.06To keep things as even as possible between the last two teams to claim this event, season-best flat start times were used to show where each of the squads is likely to fall. Hungary looks in danger of potentially failing to make the final, despite their cumulative time being faster than the bronze medal-winning time from two years ago, mostly because of the return of the teams mentioned above and Great Britain. The British’s time slots them right in the thick of it, smack dab between the NAB team and the French. They do face several more questions, however, as the Commonwealth Games pose a series of questions; paramount among them is whether any of the swimmers were fully tapered, and if they were, can they maintain that form from Glasgow and into Paris? If they were not rested, then Taylor’s split and the experience of Anderson could tip the fight for the medals with Italy, the NAB team and France towards them.
Take A Chance on Me
With six teams discussed, only six teams remain, but they could all find themselves in the final, especially if there are some scratches or disqualifications. Of the six yet mentioned, Germany looks to be in prime position.
They, as so many others mentioned above, did not compete at the 2024 edition of this meet, but nor did they swim the relay in Paris. The Germans, who have a long and marred history (pre-reunification) with this event, placed 10th in Singapore last summer, 1.24 back of the Hungarians. Nina Holt led off in 54.36, with all three of the other legs splitting sub-55. Holt was just .02 off that mark at German Nationals, winning the event in 54.38. While she claimed the gold, it wasn’t the fastest performance of the meet, as the now 18-year-old Linda Roth set a new personal best of 54.30 to become the 5th fastest German of all time. Nicole Maier, who took 2nd in the final, also set a new PB of 54.47, becoming the then 10th fastest swimmer ever for her nation.
Joined by Julianna Bocska and her 54.47 from German nationals or by Maya Tobehn and her season best of 54.41, the quartet could see four swims under 54.00. If Holt can produce another sub 54.00 mark (she is entered with a 53.90) and with strong relay splits, the Germans could be under 3:36.00, which would be a massive improvement on their 3:38.30 from last summer.
Spain’s Maria Daza Garcia and her 54.01 certainly put the Spaniards into the mix. Coupled with Irene Ciercoles Galve‘s 54.68 from the European Juniors, the Spanish have a young core to build around, but with 55.08 and 55.66 as their likely last two legs, they won’t be able to match Hungary if they are on form.
Poland finished 3rd two years ago, but look to be in trouble this go-around. Barbara Lesniewska and Zuzanna Famulok are entered with times of 55.04 and 55.10 in the individual event but are lacking the support needed to make another strong run. Kasia Wasick is always a strong potential leg for the poles, having split two sub-54s last year on the medley relay, but the USA-based sprinter has really set her mind to the 50s over the past few years. However, if she were tapped to swim, it may be enough to break out of the prelims.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Place Nation Season Best Add-Up 2024 Result 1 Netherlands 3:33.87 N/A 2 Italy 3:35.02 N/A 3 Great Britain 3:36.06 N/A 4 NAB 3:35.58 N/A 5 France 3:36.40 N/A 6 Germany 3: 37.56 N/A 7 Hungary 3:39.57 Gold – 3:36.77 8 Poland 3:42.61 Bronze – 3:41.01Dark Horse: Sweden – The big question mark is the Swedes. Only Sofia Astedt is ranked this year amongst the world’s top 100, with her season best of 54.72 coming in at 92nd. Their only other entrant in the event is Elvira Mortstrand, who has an entry time of 56.57. That said, three-quarters of their national record-setting and 5th-placing finishing team from the 2024 Olympics are on the roster. Michelle Coleman‘s retirement certainly hurts the team’s chances, but Louise Hansson and Sara Junevik are both still competing and are entered in the 50 free, in addition to both the 50/100 fly, so a 100 free is not out of the realm of possibility. A 100 free for Sarah Sjostrom, however, could be too big of an ask. After taking time away from the sport for maternity leave, the former World Record holder made her comeback in April at the Malmsten Swim Open and then later competed at the Sette Colli meet. Her result in Rome in the 50 free has her ranked 3rd in the World this year, and first among Europeans, but her ability to race a 100 is a big quandary. That said, Sjostrom has the experience and tenacity that, should she swim, it would not be surprising to see her produce a sub-53 split.
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