2026 European Championship Previews: Germany’s Distance Crew Leads The 1500 Freestyle Field ...Middle East

By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam

2026 European Swimming Championships

By The Numbers – Men’s 1500 Freestyle

The men’s 1500 freestyle has seen major changes in the last five years. Eight of the top ten performers hit their mark in the past four years and that includes Bobby Finke breaking the long-standing world record two years ago at the 2024 Olympics. Of course, this isn’t a global event, so this will not be the full-powered clash of titans we’ve come to expect from men’s distance races at the Olympic and World Championship level. However, three of the top 10 performers in the event are slated to race next week in Paris, making this still a hotly contested race.

Open water swimming could potentially become a major factor in this race. The open water competition is taking place before pool swimming at these European Championships, meaning that some of the top contenders in the 1500 freestyle have already put multiple kilometers into their legs already in Paris. Notably, Johannes Liebmann, Oliver Klemet, Gregorio Paltrinieri, David Betlehem, and Sacha Velly have all spent the better part of this week racing in the Seine.

It remains to be seen what kind of effect that will have on them once the action begins in La Defense Arena; in the past, we’ve seen some swimmers struggle to make that transition when the open water events come before the pool swimming. It isn’t a foregone conclusion that will happen again, but it is something to keep in mind. That’s especially true for the Germans and Italians; both of those nations have three swimmers capable of qualifying for the final but the rules state only two swimmers per country may swim in an event final. Swimmers from these countries do not have the benefit of cruising through prelims, which could be an advantage for the swimmers who skipped open water events.

Three’s A Crowd

Germany’s Distance Depth Out In Full Force

Even before the psych sheets came out, Lukas Märtens announced he would forgo the 800 and 1500 freestyle in favor of focusing on the 200 and 400 freestyle. Germany’s distance crew is still in full control of this event though, they own the top three times in the world this season—though of course, only two of them can race for a medal.

Johannes Liebmann, the newest German distance swimming revelation, leads the way not only for his country but for the entire field. He’s the only swimmer to have broken 14:40 this season; he popped a lifetime best 14:39.67 at the Stockholm Open. That is the same meet where he surprised with a European record in the 800 freestyle.

Liebmann is the next in a line of German distance swimmers that have announced themselves to the world over the last several years—a list that includes the likes of Märtens and Sven Schwarz. His time makes him the 17th man to break 14:40 in the event’s history. It puts him in the driver’s seat heading into these championships. But, the big question is whether he’ll be able to reach his spring form again months later. In the past, it’s often taken until the next season for Germany’s breakout stars to put it together at the major international championships.

To get into the final, Liebmann will be battling countrymates Oliver Klemet and Schwarz. Klemet has been 14:41.71 already this season, which ranks him as the third-fastest swimmer this season behind Liebmann and Schwarz. He’s cracked the 14:40 barrier before, swimming 14:39.03 at the 2025 German Championships. He did not get to race the event at the 2025 World Championships though, as Florian Wellbrock and Schwarz represented Germany instead.

Last summer, Schwarz won silver at the 2025 World Championships, rallying after finishing 10th at the 2024 Olympics. Schwarz swam 14:40.93 at the Berlin Swim Open less than ten days after Liebmann’s 14:39.67 effort. He swam his lifetime best 14:35.69 last year, which made him the seventh-fastest performer in history. It goes to show just how much distance swimming has evolved in the past five years that time makes him only the third-fastest man expected behind the blocks at these championships.

Schwarz is the only one of this trio that did not race open water this week. Klemet picked up bronze in the 10km and also raced the 5km and 3km knockout sprints. Liebmann and Klemet finished 8th and 9th, respectively, in the latter.

Italy Fields Strong Trio

Gregorio Paltrinieri was not originally named to the pool swimming team for these European Championships, though the Italian federation left the door open for him to be named later. That’s exactly what’s happened and though Paltrinieri has only been 14:58.03 this season, having the European record holder in the field means the rest of the field needs to be mindful.

Paltrinieri is the 2016 Olympic champion in this event. After missing out on the Tokyo podium, he earned silver in Paris with a 14:34.55. He actually owns the most sub-14:35 performances in event history, having cleared that mark five times in his decorated career. He just added more hardware to his collection, picking up bronze in the 5km open water race this week.

His teammate Matteo Diodato is the fastest Italian in the event this season. Diodato clocked a lifetime best 14:53.73 at Sette Colli. Luca De Tullio is the third Italian swimmer in this race and he’s been 15:03.74 this season. De Tullio has been much faster in his career and owns a lifetime best 14:48.77. De Tullio was on the wrong side of the two swimmers per country rule twice at the 2022 European Championships—missing out on the 800 and 1500 freestyle finals because he was not one of the top two Italians. If he can approach his lifetime best, he should be able to clear that hurdle unless Diodato has another big drop in store.

In 2022, Spain’s Carlos Garach rounded out the top eight swimmers in the heats with a 15:08.78, though Klemet made the final with his 15:10.05 because De Tullio got left out. The qualification line went way out in 2024, with a 15:44.27 earning a second swim. Expect the finals qualification time to come back down to earth this year.

Hungary’s 1-2 Punch

David Betlehem finished in the difficult fourth-place spot twice in 2024: once at the World Championships and then again at the Olympics. Betlehem produced his lifetime best 14:40.91 on the way to his fourth-place finish in Paris, which also stands as the Hungarian national record. He just cracked the 15-minute mark this season with a 14:59.59 at Hungarian Championships.

Though he missed the podium during pool swimming at the Paris Olympics, he made it in open water, collecting a bronze in the 10km for his first Olympic medal. He was quickly reacquainted with a Paris podium this week; he earned gold in the 3km knockout sprint and silver in the 5km and 10km events. If he’s on his best pool swimming form next week, he’s someone well positioned to take advantage of the country limits that may hit Germany and Italy.

Zalan Sarkany is the reigning European bronze medalist in this event. He’s also the only returning swimmer from that podium with neither Kuzey Tuncelli or Mykhailo Romanchuk racing. It will take much more than the 15:06.67 he swam in 2024 to win bronze this year but Sarkany has also improved; he’s already beaten that swim with his season-best 14:54.05 from Hungarian Championships. His lifetime best stands at 14:47.89.

The Olympic Bronze Medalist

At the top of this preview, we mentioned there are three of the top 10 all-time performers entered. We’ve touched on Paltrinieri (#2) and Schwarz (#9). The only one we’ve yet to mention is Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, who won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics to follow up his gold in the 800 freestyle.

Wiffen is the fifth-fastest performer in history, swimming a 14:34.07 to win gold at the 2024 World Championships. He’s had a tumultuous year that’s included shifting his training base from University of California to Ireland. Despite the chaos, he’s proven himself as a contender throughout the past few years and certainly should not be discounted in this field. He swam a season-best 14:44.70 for silver at the Commonwealth Games, which makes him the fourth-fastest European on the entry list and the fastest non-German swimmer.

More Swimmers To Watch

Sacha Velly demolished the field at the French Elite Championships, storming to a lifetime best 14:51.23 to qualify for pool swimming at the 2026 European Championships. Velly is an accomplished open water swimmer and has won medals in the discipline at the European Junior Championship and European Championship level. He’s got the fifth-fastest season best among swimmers on the psych sheet, making him a solid finals candidate.

18-year-old Andrei-Theodor Proca is sitting just over the 15-minute mark. He swam a lifetime best 15:00.36 this season at the Canet stop of the Mare Nostrum tour. He’s someone who could also find himself benefitting from the country limits imposed on the finals. That goes for a lot of the swimmers hanging around on the edge of that bubble. The fact that these limits will almost certainly come into play will make prelims interesting for swimmers like Proca, Victor Johansson, Vasileios Kakoulakis, and Nathan Wiffen.

SwimSwam Picks

Dark Horse: Henrik Christiansen, Norway — In a field with only 26 entries, it’s difficult to find a true “dark horse” candidate. So, let’s give it to the Muffin Man himself, Henrik Christiansen. He was a finalist at the 2022 European Championships, finishing seventh. His lifetime best is a 14:45.35. That would be more than enough to final in this field, but he hasn’t broken 14:50 since 2019. He has also been fairly quiet this season, which leaves lots of questions about what kind of time he can produce next week in Paris. But depending on the field, simply breaking 15:10 could secure a second swim.

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