By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
2026 European Swimming Championships
August 10-16, 2026 Paris, France — Olympic Aquatics Centre LCM (50 Meters) Meet Information Meet Central Entries Results Live Results SwimSwam Preview IndexDay 1 Prelims Schedule
Men’s 400 IM Women’s 100 Freestyle Men’s 50 Butterfly Women’s 200 Backstroke Men’s 100 Breaststroke Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay Women’s 800 FreestyleWe are underway in Paris this morning for the first day of the swimming events at the 2026 European Championships. Although we return to the same city as the 2024 Olympic Games, the pool will look a little different for any returning swimmers – this meet is being held at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, whereas the Games two years ago, somewhat confusingly, took place at the Paris La Défense Arena instead.
We already have a bombshell in the first event – Leon Marchand withdrew from both IM events on Saturday – but there are still plenty of stars diving in this morning.
Men’s 400 IM
We have just three heats of the men’s 400 IM this morning, with only 26 athletes entered in total. The big story is one of the absentees, as world record holder and 2025 world champion Leon Marchand withdrew from the IM events on Saturday as he rehabs a hip adductor injury.
Ilia Borodin, who won gold in 2021, is the top seed in his absence and the only man entered under 4:10 with a 4:09.16. He is flanked by teammate Maxim Stupin (4:11.53) and Germany’s Cedric Bussing (4:13.56) in the final heat, with Thomas Jansen (4:14.09) and Spanish champion Diego Mira Albaladejo also in that heat.
Max Litchfield, who placed 4th at the 2024 Olympic Games and 7th at the World Championships last summer, is the #2 seed in 4:11.16 but didn’t look great as he finished 5th at the Commonwealth Games in 4:14.18. Alberto Razzetti has been hit-and-miss for Italy, but will be in lane 5 next to Litchfield with his entry time of 4:13.37.
Romanian 18-year-old Robert-Andrei Badea won bronze at a home World Junior Championships last summer, and is the #6 seed in 4:13.79. He will hope to get the better of 2024 European Champion Apostolos Papastamos (4:14.37) and qualify for his first senior final.
Women’s 100 Freestyle
World record holder and 2025 world champion Marrit Steenbergen is the headline act in this event, and leads the psych sheets by over a second with the 51.68 she clocked earlier this year. She has posted four swims under the 52-second barrier this year, and should be able to cruise through the heats here.
Italian record holder Sara Curtis (52.69) will be in lane 4 in the penultimate heat, with Steenbergen’s teammate Milou van Wijk seeded third in 52.91. Curtis has dropped three tenths off her previous best and Italian record this season, while van Wijk finished 4th at the World Championships last year.
Daria Klepikova (52.98) was just behind van Wijk in that final and is the final woman entered under 53 seconds, with the French pair of Beryl Gastaldello (53.30) and Marie Wattel (53.38) hoping for the home crowd to lift them.
The Belgian pair of Florine Gaspard (53.71) and Roos Vanotterdijk (53.87) are also entered, and Great Britain’s Theodora Taylor will be one to keep an eye on out of lane 7 in heat 5. Her entry time is 54.20, but she lowered that to 54.00 at the Commonwealth Games and split 52.63 last month.
European Junior champion Alessandra Mao (54.28) could fall victim to the “two-per-nation” rule for semi-finals, with Curtis and Emma Virginia Menicucci (53.75) seeded ahead of her, while NAB’s Daria Trofimova, a World Championship semi-finalist last year, is not entered despite her season best of 54.05 nominally seeding her 16th.
Germany have four swimmers in the circle-seeded heats and will need to perform at their best this morning to be among the fastest two, while the British trio of Taylor (54.20) , Freya Anderson (54.05), and Evelyn Davis (53.99) will vie for two spots as well.
Men’s 50 Butterfly
There is a blockbuster field in this event, with 12 men entered under 23 seconds and all three of the medalists from the 2025 World Championships in the field. Maxime Grousset (22:48) won gold in Singapore ahead of Noe Ponti (22.51) and Thomas Ceccon (22.67), but they are split by Egor Kornev (22.59) here.
Sean Niewold set a new Dutch record of 22.69 at Dutch Trials last month and is the #5 seed, while 2024 World champion Diogo Matos Ribeiro (22.77), Hungarian record holder Kristof Milak (22.86) and former Russian record holder Oleg Kostin (22.79) are seeded highly.
It may take a faster time than the 23.28 it took at the World Championships last year to qualify for the semi-finals, with 21 men seeded faster than that mark. Of the 45 men to have broken 23 seconds in history, 13 will swim in the heats 6, 7, and 8 this morning.
Most swimmers will not have to worry about the “two-per-nation” rule for the semi-finals, with the rather large exception of Neutral Athletes B. Alongside Kornev and Kostin, Roman Shevliakov (22.92) and Egor Iurchenko (22.96) are seeded under 23 seconds and will need to be at their very best to make it through.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
There are just three heats of the women’s 200 backstroke, with over half of this morning’s swimmers progressing through to the semi-finals tonight. Anastasiya Shkurdai (2:07.85) is the top seed, just ahead of Spain’s Estella Tonrath (2:08.03), and France’s Pauline Mahieu (2:08.28), but Shkurdai is yet to break 2:10 this season.
Defending champion Camila Rodrigues Rebolo (2:08.96) is the #7 seed for Portugal, while Commonwealth Games silver medalist Katie Shanahan (2:08.85) is the #6 seed. Lise Seidel (2:08.75) was a finalist at the World Championships last summer and is seeded 5th.
France are the only nation whose swimmers need to be mindful of the “two-per-nation rule”, with Mahieu, Bertille Cousson (2:08.67), and European Junior Champion Jeanne LeChavalier (2:10.01) fighting for two spots and likely to be among the top finishers this morning.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
For the first time since the 2012 Championships, Adam Ramsay-Peaty is in attendance and is not the favorite nor top seed. He will be in the final heat, but swimming out of lane 3 as the #7 seed in his season-best time of 58.97.
Taking lane 4 is Kirill Prigoda, who set a new Russian record of 58.53 in the semi-finals at the World Championships last summer before being disqualified in the final. His teammate Ivan Kozhakin is the #3 seed in 58.91.
Ramsay-Peaty is one of three Brits, with Commonwealth Games silver medalist and 2025 World Junior Champion Filip Nowacki (59.20) seeded 9th, and Greg Butler (59.53) swimming next to Ramsay-Peaty in the final heat. Prigoda and Kozhakin will have another two teammates to contend with in the form of Aleksandr Zhigalov (59.91) and Daniil Pisteskii (1:00.42).
Simone Cerasuolo (58.82), Ludovico Art Viberti (58.89), Christian Mantegazza (1:00.04), and 2025 World Championships silver medalist Nicolo Martinenghi (58.58) are the Italian quartet, with a minimum of one of that 58-second trio missing out on the semi-finals. Expect some similarly swift racing from Germany’s Melvin Imoudu (59.33) and Lucas Matzerath (58.75) as well.
Ilya Shymanovic (59.44), the #8 performer in history with his 58.29 from 2019, will be in the first of the circle-seeded heats, while France’s Carl Aitkaci (59.43) and the Netherlands’ European Short Course champion Caspar Corbeau (59.03) will aim to progress without any scares.
Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay
With just 13 teams entered, there is not as much jeopardy in these heats as in the individual event. Great Britain, Germany, and Italy look the class of the field and will swim next to each other in the final heat, which should be the faster of the two.
Defending champion Israel has not entered a team, but Hungary and Spain could also throw down a strong performance here. Hungary were 4th at the World Championships last year in 7:49.66, the top European finisher.
The Netherlands are in an outside lane in the first heat, but in Imani de Jong and a few 2:00-point swimmers should progress comfortably even without Marrit Steenbergen, who will almost assuredly come into the team for the final.
Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay
There is a little more competition in the men’s event, but it is the same three nations who should lead the way. Great Britain are the defending Olympic champions and World champions, and has enough depth that they could progress fastest even without using Matt Richards and James Guy.
Germany leave Lukas Martens off this morning, but have developed a solid core that should see them progress comfortably, while France could be vulnerable with no Leon Marchand in the heats team.
Defending European Champions Lithuania have four solid swimmers and rest national record holder Danas Rapsys this morning. European Junior medalist Tajus Juska (1:45.67) will be hoping to prove he is one to watch in the individual event, and Spain could be dangerous as they use national record holder Luca Hoek le Guenedal (1:46.10).
The top teams will hold something back for tonight, but there are enough relay spots for their finals teams tonight up for grabs that those who do swim will be in full audition mode.
Women’s 800 Freestyle
We wrap things up this morning with the women’s 800 free, the final for which will take place tomorrow evening. Simona Quadarella (8:12.81) and Isabel Gose (8:18.23) are the only swimmers entered under 8:20, only Vivien Jackl (8:26.97) and Maya Werner (8:29.53) join them under 8:30. This should be a relatively calm heat session for lane 4 in each of the final two heats, but there will be a battle around them for the final.
Fifth through tenth here are separated by just over three seconds and several swimmers in the field, including Artemis Vasilaki (8:32.29) and Sarah Dumont (8:30.44), have set lifetime bests already this season. The action will not be in the middle of the pool in these heats.
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