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 – Men’s 50 Butterfly
World Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018 European Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018 Championship Record: 22.48- Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018 2025 World Champion: Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 22.48 2024 European Champion: Stergios-Marios Bilas (GRE) – 23.15The men’s 50 butterfly has been a happy hunting ground for Europeans, having swept the podium at both the 2023 and 2025 World Championships. The World Record, too, has been in the hands of a European since 2009, when Spain’s Rafael Munoz posted the first sub-22.50 time. Since then, only three other swimmers have accomplished that feat, with Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov setting a new benchmark in 2018, recording a time of 22.27. With eight of the fastest 11 performers (there is a tie for 10th) and nine of the fastest 12 performers all hailing from Europe, the continent seems to have a lock on the event.
Six of those 12 are entered in the field this year in Paris, making the 50 Butterfly one of the most anticipated events of the meet, but with questions of form and injuries plaguing some of the entrants, the race to the top of the podium is wide open.
An Alpine Symphony
Last year, at Worlds in Singapore, the podium was swept by a trio of Europeans; in fact, seven of the eight finalists were all from Europe, but the top three all have a connection, in that not only do their home nations all abut one another, but each is known for the staggering beauty of their mountains.
France’s Maxime Grousset took the win last summer, posting a new national record of 22.48, to not only win the gold, but move him up the rankings to become the 4th fastest performer of all time. His time, a .13 improvement on his day-old personal best, is the fifth fastest performance of all time and the fastest the event has swum since Caeleb Dressel nearly broke the world record back in 2019, with his 22.35. Such accolades for Grousset would obviously make him the heavy favorite for the title in Paris, but the Frenchman hasn’t had the easiest of summers to lead up to his appearance before his home nation.
The silver medalist from the 2022 Rome Championships owns a season-best time of 22.87 from the Lausanne Cup back in March, and looked to be in good form heading into June’s French Elite Championships, but suddenly withdrew from the meet after revealing that he had fractured one of his metatarsals while at training camp. Despite an expected four-week recovery, Grousset’s participation in this meet was in question, as he would have to wait to see if there were any roster spots left on the team for him to fill.
The foot injury is not the lone reason for Grousset to not be the heavy favorite to win the title, as his margin of victory in Singapore was just .03. Just a few centimeters from victory, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti had to settle for the silver medal, albeit also breaking into the upper echelon of the world’s fastest swimmers, ranking as the 5th fastest performer of all time. The fastest man in the event in a 25-meter pool, Ponti has had a strong season leading up to these championships. He got revenge on Grousset at December’s Short Course Championship, taking the win in the 50 fly there, one of three titles he won. He took second to the Frenchman in Lausanne, going 23.07, but then emerged victorious at the Sette Colli, beating a strong field, going 22.81 in prelims and 22.73 in finals. The Swiss star’s 22.73 season best ranks him tied for 4th in the world this calendar year, but 3rd amongst Europeans, meaning he’ll have work to do if he wishes to claim his first gold medal at an international long course championship.
Surprisingly, Ponti did not swim this event back in 2022, despite being present at the meet. However, it would still have been tough for the Swiss to claim victory, as the home crowd was firmly behind Thomas Ceccon. A strong backstroker, Ceccon has turned into a sprint butterflier, winning the European crown in 2022 and a World title in 2023. Last summer, he nearly fell off the podium, slipping from the gold down to the bronze, but like Grousset and Ponti, the Italian set a new national record of 22.67, a time that currently ranks him as the 10th fastest performer of all time.
Like Grousset, Ceccon hasn’t had the best of lead-ups to these championships. The 100 back world record holder has admitted to struggling to find motivation, and his times this season, or lack thereof, are reflective of this. He had a limited event list in Lublin at European Short Course Champs, and while he did tie with Ponti in Lausanne going 23.07, and did post a 23.01 in China back in March, but he didn’t swim the event at either the Italian Nationals in April or at the Sette Colli meet in June. He is entered 4th fastest in the event, with his time from last summer, but ranked just 16th in the world this year; the Italian will need to put in the work to earn a spot on the podium.
Perhaps it’s a relationship with the Alpine Argus Butterfly, or perhaps it’s just a weird coincidence, but two other nations that claim ownership of the Alps have some swimmers with final potential. While he was the slowest of the seven Europeans in the final, Germany’s Luca Armbruster earned his spot in the final the hard way. The German, the 9th fastest entrant in the event at Worlds last summer, nearly missed the semifinals, with his 23.28 securing the 16th spot by just .01. Perhaps with that lesson learned, he slashed over a quarter of a second in the semis, recording a new national record of 22.91, a result coincidentally that was .01 ahead of the 9th place finisher.
In the final, Armbruster once again cut time, this time slicing .07 off his old mark, tying for 6th with the Dutch sprinter, Nyls Korstanje, at 22.84. He hasn’t been that close to his national record this season, so Armbruster may find the European Championships final harder to make than the World Championships final. He finished 7th at Sette Colli with a time of 23.36, and with a season best of 23.13, the German doesn’t scratch the World’s top 25, a list that contains 15 Europeans. His fellow German speaker, Simon Bucher, too, faces some issues in making the final.
Bucher, an Austrian, like so many of his competitors, recoded new national records in Singapore. After qualifying for the semifinals in 10th position with a 23.20, the 2024 World silver medalist in the 100 fly broke the 23-second barrier, recording a new best of 22.95, finishing as the 2nd alternate for the final. Bucher, alone of the aforementioned swimmers, contested the event two years ago in Belgrade, where he won the silver medal in a time of 23.19, a time that possibly could be too slow to make the semifinals. Like Armbruster, Bucher hasn’t had the strongest season. He failed to advance out of the semifinals at SC Euros and appears to own a season best of 23.93 in long course. The pair are listed in the entry sheets as the 8th and 11th seeds, but their recent form, or lack thereof, may spell doom for their chances.
Swan Lake
While the butterfly stroke can be smooth and graceful, much like a swan on water, the action beneath the surface is anything but. With furious kicks and powerful catches, the action in the pool is going to be fast and furious, but even more so for those athletes competing under the Neutral Athlete B banner, swimmers hailing from Russia.
Each nation/team is allowed to enter four swimmers, but only two are allowed to advance to the semifinals, meaning that the four entrants from the NAB team will have their own contest to not only place among the fastest 16 swimmers, but to make sure they are not the 3rd or 4th fastest from their team. They are not the only team facing this issue, but with their four swimmers all seeded amongst the top 12, they certainly will be the most affected by this.
Leading the way and the most likely to advance are Egor Kornev and Oleg Kostin. The pair are seeded 3rd and 7th with entry times of 22.59 and 22.79 respectively. Unlike most of the field, those results come from swimming this season, with the pair producing the times at the Russian Championships in June. Of note, Kornev’s time was from the semifinals (22.94 in the final) and shot the native Russian up to sit as the 6th fastest performer of all time, breaking Kostin’s national record of 22.62 from 2023.
The pair, the fastest and 8th fastest swimmers in the world this year, can’t rest on their laurels as they have a pair of teammates who are not far behind. Kostin, especially, as the 34-year-old and 2018 European bronze medalist, has the younger pair of Roman Shevliakov and Egor Iurchenko hot on his heels. The pair are entered with times of 22.92 and 22.96, making the NAB team have four entrants all under the 23-second barrier. Shevliakov’s season best is 23.07, whereas Iurchenko’s is his 22.96 from Russian Nationals, so the 24-year-old may be in a better position to challenge his faster compatriots.
Four Seas Interludes
At one point in history, the Greeks, Portuguese, Dutch, and English were the rulers of the seas, and each nation will be looking to have that affinity for the water pay off in the 50 fly this year. All four nations have a strong relationship with the event as a Greek swimmer claimed the title in 2024 and the latter three nations all placed a swimmer into the final in Singapore last summer.
Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro finished 4th at the 2025 Worlds .10 off the podium, but like all those ahead of him, he recorded a new personal best and national record, setting a mark of 22.77, to rank currently as the 20th fastest performer of all time. A 2022 bronze medalist in this event and the 2024 World Champion, the Coimbra native has become a recognizable player in the sprint fly events and should be in contention for another podium. He is seeded 6th with that national record, but hasn’t been quite as quick as his rivals this season, ranking 18th in the world with a time of 23.03 from his win at April’s Malmsten Open, defeating Armbruster in the process. Coming from a smaller country, he hasn’t been pushed much in national meets, so Ribeiro may be saving everything for this coming week.
A lack of pressure in domestic competitions, is not something that the Brits are familiar with, as Joshua Gammon and Jacob Peters are separated this season by just .01. Gammon, the younger of the two, took the win at the 2026 Aquatics GB Championships this past April, 23.10 to 23.11, with the pair booking their tickets to both Paris for these championships and to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games. Gammon didn’t swim the event last month, but Peters was rather lackluster, finishing 6th in the final in a time of 23.46. The pair are ranked 24th and 25th in the world this year, and as the 14th and 15th seeds, they will need to be at their best if they wish to make the semifinal, let alone the final. Neither of them swam the event last year in Singapore, as Ben Proud was the lone British representative.
Proud produced a national record in the semifinals, a feat equaled by Grousset, Armbruster, Bucher and Greece’s Stergios-Marios Bilas. The 24-year-old produced a time of 23.00 to finish 11th overall. While certainly disappointed in not making the final, the time was .15 improvement upon his winning time from the 2024 European Championship. In Belgrade, Bilas produced a then-national record of 23.06 in the semifinals before going on to win the final, one of three medals he won for his nation. The inaugural European U23 champion in this event, Bilas finds his path to repeat his senior title a difficult one, as he is just the 13th seed. He has been as fast as 23.08, placing 3rd at the Sette Colli, and could join the sub-23 club, but a time in that range may still not be enough to make the final.
In Singapore, the Dutch placed two swimmers into the semifinals, with Nyls Korstanje placing 6th in the final. However, this year the focus has shifted to Sean Niewold, as the 24-year-old has skyrocketed up the rankings. After finishing 15th in the semis of Singapore with a time of 23.17, Niewold has been on a tear. He didn’t make the finals at SC Euros, but set a new PB in the prelims before then winning the event at his nationals in December. He jumped over to the US to compete in the NCAA for Alabama, scoring in both the 50 free and 200 medley relay, where he swam the fly leg. While stateside, he produced a new PB of 23.04 at the Pro Swim Series meet in Westmont, but then undercut that in Sacramento, joining the sub-23 club with a 22.94 in prelims. Six weeks later, back in the Netherlands, he set two more bests, going 22.82 in prelims before exploding in finals with a 22.69, a time that not only reset the national record, but makes him the 12th fastest performer of all time in the event.
The Blue Danube
While the water levels of the Danube have been at historic lows, especially in Budapest, Hungary’s Kristof Milak will be hoping that the low points in his career are behind him as an eight-time European Champion makes his return to these championships. A four-time champion in the 200 fly, Milak has never medaled in the 50 fly, having fallen victim to the two-per-country limit two years ago, after placing 12th in prelims, behind compatriots Sebastian Szabo and Hubert Kos.
Milak likely won’t face that issue again, but he has several others that he will need to overcome. He hasn’t competed at a major international meet since the 2024 Olympics, after taking much of 2025 off for personal reasons. The break hasn’t seemed to really stop the 200 fly world record holder, as he set a new national record in this event at the Sette Colli, setting a new benchmark of 22.86, finishing .13 behind Ponti. Milak will also have to deal with some media scrutiny as he is involved in a public spat with compatriot Kos over his lack of participation in relays for his nation. That aside, however, the 50 fly is on the first and second days of the competition, so he should be able to avoid that conversation for a little while and focus on making the final as he enters as the 9th seed.
Summer
Much like the crashing sounds of thunder evoked in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the men’s 50 fly is going to be dramatic and suspenseful. While the final is bound to be a close affair, the process in getting there may be even more fraught with tension. With the high-end speed present at the top of the field, pressure will be on to put forth a fast time in prelims, especially for those seeded in the first circle-seeded heat.
Kornev, the 3rd seed, Ribeiro (6th), Milak (9th), Iurchenko (12th), and Peters (15th) are at a large disadvantage as they won’t have the information required to know how to pace the race, so expect them to go close to all out, thereby forcing the next two heats to do the same. Iurchenko, especially, will need to be quick as he has the issue of being one of four swimmers from the NAB team.
Grousset and Ceccon, both ensconced in the final heat of prelims, are big question marks but have the experience to swim themselves into the final, but may not have enough swimming under their belts this year to contest for the gold with the likes of Ponti and Kornev being near or at their best already.
SwimSwam Picks
Place Swimmer Nation Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Noe Ponti Switzerland 22.73 22.51 2 Egor Kornev NAB 22.59 22.59 3 Maxime Grousset France 22.78 22.48 4 Sean Niewold Netherlands 22.69 22.69 5 Oleg Kostin NAB 22.79 22.72 6 Thomas Ceccon Italy 23.01 22.67 7 Kristof Milak Hungary 22.84 22.84 8 Diogo Ribeiro Portugal 23.03 22.77Dark Horse: Nikita Sheremet (UKR) – Sheremet’s personal best is just a 24.92 dating back to last year’s Malmsten Open, but the Louisville-based swimmer has looked great in the 50 free, having set a new PB of 21.62 at the Westmont Pro Swim Series, and ranks 14th in the world this season. In this event, he has no entry time, so he could put up a scorcher of a time in the first heat and sneak his way into the semifinals. It’s far more likely that one of the other NAB athletes beats out Kostin for a spot in the final, but Sheremet is just 19 and could be trying to add this event in preparation for the Olympics in 2028, so look for some outside smoke in the first heat.
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