2026 Aquatics GB Championship: Day 2 Prelims Recap ...Middle East

By Mark Wild on SwimSwam

2026 AQUATICS GB SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

It may be two years later, but we I are still giving it our best shot to bring the term “Chunnel” back into the vernacular, as Aquatics GB is looking to select their team for the European Championships, set to be hosted just across the channel in Paris. The meet is also serving as Great Britain’s constituent nations’ Commonwealth Games selection meet, a meet that is set to kick off up north in Glasgow.

Last night, six swimmers hit the Aquatics GB qualifying times for the 2026 Paris European Championships, with Adam Peaty leading two others under the 100 breaststroke mark, as well as James Guy punching a ticket in the 400 free and Keanna MacInnes outtouching Emily Richards in the 200 fly.

This morning, several of those swimmers returned to the pool as the men’s 50 breaststroke, women’s 400 IM, men’s 200 butterfly, women’s 100 backstroke, men’s 400 IM, and the early heats of the women’s 1500.

Men’s 50 Breast

Adam Peaty continued to show why he is the dominant force in British breaststroke as the 31-year-old hit the wall in 26.87, clearing the field by nearly half a second. It’s Peaty’s fastest time since the 2024 World Championships in Doha, and he becomes the 10th swimmer this season under 27.00, slotting in at number 7.

2025-2026 LCM Men 50 BREAST

Last night’s 3rd place finisher, Max Mogan, just outouched Archie Goodburn and Filip Nowacki to take 2nd behind Peaty, with his 27.28, .04 ahead of Goodburn and .11 ahead of last night’s runner-up Nowacki. The trio will have some work to do tonight as they are chasing a 27.13 Qualifying time. Morgan was Great Britain’s lone representative in the event at the 2025 World in Singapore, finishing tied for 29th with a 27.50, but later in the summer, finished 5th at Junior Worlds with a time of 27.21, .03 back of Nowacki’s 4th-place finish.

Women’s 400 IM

With a very swift automatic qualifying time of 4:39.23 as a target, the women’s 400 IM prelims was a balancing act of doing enough in the morning to earn a finals spot, but holding enough in reserve to not be too tired for the final. Sixteen-year-old Amalie Smith certainly proved she will be the one to beat tonight as she posted the top time by nearly eight seconds, with the Monson swimmer hitting the wall on 4:42.59. The reigning European Junior champ and Junior World Silver medalist, Smith, was not the lone teenager to make the final; in fact, the top eight finishers from this morning are all teenagers.

Smith’s 4:42.59 easily clears the field, with Suzie McNair‘s 4:50.40 taking 2nd. But it won’t be a guaranteed 2nd place for the 19-year-old from Stirling as 3.8 seconds separates 2nd from 8th, and just .25 separates McNair from 3rd place finisher Ines Guimond-Beetham.

The youthfulness of the event is not that surprising, as both of Great Britain’s representatives in the event last year at Worlds, Freya Colbert and Abbie Wood, did not enter the event, leaving many opportunities for the younger generation to earn a spot on their Commonwealth rosters, if not on the European roster.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

Some unusual names popped up in the heats of the 200 fly, as Duncan Scott, an Olympic medalist in the 200 IM and 200 Free, finished 2nd this morning, one spot ahead of fellow Olympic medalist, Luke Greenbank, who earned the bronze in the 200 back in Tokyo. The pair were two of six swimmers to get under the 2:00 barrier this morning, with Scott hitting the wall on 1:58.31, .40 ahead of Greenbank’s 1:58.71.

The pair will flank the top seed, Ed Mildred, whose 1:57.40 was the lone sub-1:58 time on the morning. The Manchester-based swimmer has added the 200 fly to his repertoire of late, as both of his European medals have come in the 4×100 free relays. The 23-year-old finished 15th in the event last year in Singapore, going 1:56.13, bettering his 1;56.21 from this meet last year, where he finished 2nd to Scott. Scott went 1:54.89 to win the event last year, but in his post-race interview, stated he was unlikely to compete in the event at Worlds.

Women’s 100 Backstroke 

Swimmers kept things close to the chest in the heats this morning, with no swimmer breaking the one-minute barrier. Manchester PC’s Lauren Cox will occupy the middle lane tonight as her 1:00.41 topped the field. Just one of four swimmers out in under 30, Cox, a World medalist in the 50 back, will have to be more aggressive on the backhalf tonight if she wishes to be under the 59.76 qualifying time.

Looking to make a name for herself in the event is Cox’s teammate, Blythe Kinsman. Seeded 2nd into the final tonight with her 1:01.07, Kinsman is a three-time individual European Junior medalist, collecting a bronze in this event last year, in addition to her gold in the 50 back.

Kinsman will have to not only get under the standard, unless selected discretionally, but also hold off the field, which includes the likes of Katie Shanahan and Honey Osrin. Shanahan, who won the event last year in 1:00.03, placed 4th this morning in a time of 1:01.97, .03 ahead of Osrin’s 1:02.00.

Men’s 400 IM

Max Litchfield continues to hold court in this event as the National Record holder posted the top time of the morning, stopping the clock in 4:18.12. While he was one of three swimmers out in under 58, Litchfield really earned the top seed due to his backstroke skills, as at the 200 turn, he was more than two seconds ahead of anyone else at that point.

The race tonight looks to be a repeat of last year’s championships as Litchfield once again leads Charlie Hutchinson and George Smith. Hutchinson and Smith were 4:20.74 and 4:21.95 this morning, echoing the same order in which they finished behind Litchfield in 2025. The pair were both under 4:20 in the final 12 months ago, but each will need to cut a few more seconds off their time to achieve the QT of 4:13.16. Hutchinson just finished up his collegiate season last month, finishing 12th in the yards version of this event, swimming for Florida.

Women’s 1500 Freestyle (Early Heats)

Grace Cummings of Thanet Swim posted the time to beat going, 16:41.66, to win her heat. The time appears to be a massive new personal best for the 20-year-old as she was entered with a seed of 17:14.31, making this result not only her first time under 17:00 but a new PB by over 30 seconds. The result shouldn’t be too shocking, especially if you followed the Women’s NCAA Championships.

Cummings, who swims in the USA at Indiana State, qualified for the NCAA as an automatic qualifier, courtesy of her Missouri Valley Conference-winning time of 16:17.25. At NCAAs, she blew past that time, going 16:08.21 in the early heats of the mile, posting the 7th fastest time of the morning, guaranteeing that she would score points, a first for her school. She had already made history for the program as its first NCAA qualifier.

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