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 Index Live Stream Recaps: Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 Finals: Day 1 | Day 2DAY 3 PRELIMS START LIST
Day 3 Prelims Schedule
Women’s 200 Freestyle Men’s 100 Butterfly Women’s 50 Backstroke Men’s 200 Breaststroke Women’s 400 IM Women’s 4×100 Freestyle RelayThe first two days at the 2026 European Championships have certainly not disappointed, and we have several swimmers back for their second event of the week this morning. Marrit Steenbergen, Hubert Kos, and Maxime Grousset will all be back in the pool having delivered standout performances last night.
Women’s 200 Freestyle
British record holder Freya Colbert (1:54.34) is the top seed in this event by nearly a second over Czechia’s Barbara Seemanova (1:55.20), and had the fastest leadoff in the women’s 4×200 free relay on day 1 with a 1:55.65. There are two other Brits for her to worry about, however, with only two out of Colbert, Freya Anderson (1:57.00), and Leah Schlosshan (1:57.49) able to progress to the semi-finals.
Seemanova won gold two years ago in 1:55.37 and has been a consistent 1:55-point swimmer over the last few seasons. She has been 1:55.99 this year, just ahead of #3 seed Marrit Steenbergen (1:56.02), who won the 100 free in a new Championship record of 51.90 last night.
However, as she is also entered in the 50 back it remains to be seen whether Steenbergen swims both, especially with a potential triple tonight with the 4×100 free relay final. Steenbergen hasn’t swum this event at the last couple of major meets, so could be one she drops.
Panna Ugrai (1:57.42) split 1:56.00 for Hungary on the anchor leg of the women’s 4×200 free relay as they won silver, and her teammate Nikolett Padar (1:56.03) is also highly seeded. Germany’s Linda Roth (1:57.52) dropped a 1:56.33 split in that race, and the European Junior champion is one to keep an eye on in heat 4.
Germany has four women entered in the 1:57s, with Roth needing to beat at least two of Nicole Maier (1:57.85), Nina Holt (1:58.11), and Maya Tobehn (1:57.25) to progress.
Men’s 100 Butterfly
After a phenomenal three rounds of the men’s 50 fly, we get to see several competitors do it all over again in the 100. World champion Maxime Grousset (49.62) is the top seed in 49.62, and is coming off three 50 fly swims between 22.49 and 22.54 and a 49.66 split on the victorious French mixed medley relay last night.
Noe Ponti had a disappointing final in the 50 yesterday, placing 8th in 22.91 after qualifying 3rd out of the semi-finals in 22.53. He will be seeking redemption in this event and is the reigning world silver medalist after clocking 49.83 behind Grousset last summer.
2024 Olympic champion Kristof Milak (50.22) is the #3 seed, and has looked strong so far with a Hungarian record of 22.75 in the 50 fly and relatively comfortable progress through the 100 free to tonight’s final. Thomas Ceccon (50.42 – psych sheets incorrectly listed as 50.41) and Milak’s teammate Hubert Kos (50.55) both have busy schedules this week and will be in tonight’s 200 back, so seeing one or both scratch wouldn’t be a huge surprise.
Andrei Minakov (50.87), the World Championships silver medalist from 2019, and Roman Shevliakov (50.70) are both entered under 51 seconds for NAB, and 50 fly finalist Luca Armbruster (51.21) will compete with German record holder Kaii Winkler (50.92), Joshua Salchow (51.28) and Bjorn Kamman (51.70) for the two spots available in the semi-finals for German swimmers.
Jakub Majerski (51.35) was the bronze medalist two years ago and will swim next to Austrian record holder Simon Bucher (50.88) in the penultimate heat, with world junior champion Tajus Juska (51.83) and British champion Ed Mildred (51.02) also ones to look out for.
Women’s 50 Backstroke
Sara Curtis was 0.03 seconds off her Italian record in the 100 free last night as she won bronze, and is the top seed here after setting a European record of 27.07 at the Sette Colli Trophy in June. Mary-Ambre Moluh broke the European record in the 100 back last night as she led off the title-winning mixed medley relay team for France in 57.99, and should also show her class this morning.
Just like in the 200 free, there is a question mark over MarritSteenbergen (27.40). She may swim both events this morning, but as we are swimming empty lanes here instead of scratching and reseeding there will be no way to know until the heat steps up to the blocks.
Lauren Cos is the #2 seed in 27.15, but hasn’t quite been at her best this season and hasn’t performed at her best at major meets. She did win Commonwealth Games silver last month though, and should be among the top 16 here.
Alina Gaifutdinova (27.23), Analia Pigree (27.31), and Roos Vanotterdijk (27.67) are also highly seeded, while Spanish 16-year-old Irene Ciercoles Galve (27.86) has been dynamite on relays so far and is one to watch in heat 3.
Pigree and Moluh will have to watch out for Beryl Gastaldello (27.62) and Jeanne LeChavalier (27.85), with only two of the French swimmers allowed to progress to the semi-finals.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
The top seed is Great Britain’s Commonwealth Games champion Filip Nowacki, who has already lowered his PB in the 100 breast from 59.20 to 59.03 at this meet. He has a season best of 2:07.87 and is entered with his European junior record of 2:07.32 from last summer.
Both Caspar Corbeau (2:07.73) and Kirill Prigoda (2:07.99) join him under 2:08, but finished behind Nowacki in the 100. Prigoda will need to be careful this morning with three other NAB swimmers in Aleksandr Zhigalov (2:08.32), Danil Pisetski (2:09.83), and Mikhail Dorinov (2:09.86) all seeded in the top ten.
Greg Butler missed out on the semi-finals in the 100 as he was the third-fastest Brit, but is the 7th seed here in 2:09.51 and coming off a finals appearance at the Commonwealth Games last month. Luka Mladenovic (2:10.08) of Austria won this event at the European U23 Championships last summer but was off his best in the 100.
Jack Kelly, who dropped nearly a second off his Irish record in the 100, is the #10 seed in 2:09.90 and could set another record this morning. European junior Champion Doruk Yogurtcuoglu (2:09.43) and silver medalist Evangelos Efraim Ntoumas (2:10.76) are also in a field with only ten swimmers entered under 2:10.
Women’s 400 IM
There are just two heats of the women’s 400 IM, one fewer than the men had, and 14 swimmers competing for eight spots in the final. Amalie Smith (4:35.18) set a new European Junior record of 4:33.70 to win silver at the Commonwealth Games last month and is the fastest seed here, just over a tenth of a second ahead of Ireland’s Ellen Walshe (4:35.32).
Smith did not look as strong as she did in Glasgow on the women’s 4×200 free relay on Monday, splitting 2:01.16 in the heats, but she has won the last two European junior titles in this event and will be gunning for her first senior title. Walshe won gold in the 400 IM at the European Short Course Championships in December, but is yet to win a major long course title.
Hungary’s Vivien Jackl, who won silver behind Smith in Munich last month, is the #3 seed in 4:37.47, with Spain’s Alba Vazquez Ruiz (4:38.16) also entered under 4:39. There are only seven swimmers entered in under 4:40, so expect this one to be a little slower than the entry times as the top swimmers save something for tonight’s final.
Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay
Just 12 teams will dive in for the women’s 4×100 free relay, with the Netherlands the likely favorites for tonight after Marrit Steenbergen and Milou van Wijk went 1-2 in the individual 100 free final last night, but most nations will rest their top swimmers this morning.
Great Britain won the 4×200 free relay at a canter on day 1 and should progress comfortably, but they may be behind a strong German team, as well as Hungary, and Italy.
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