Oliver Papai, 16 Years Old, Ties Kristof Rasovszky’s Hungarian 400 Free Record In 3:45.32 ...Middle East

By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam

2026 European Swimming Championships

Oliver Papai tied Kristof Razovszky’s Hungarian record in the 400 free this morning, clocking a 3:45.32 out of the non-circle-seeded heats to qualify second into tonight’s final.

Papai, who is just 16 years old, hacked two and a half seconds off his best to win heat 5, going out to halfway in 1:51.95 and closing fastest of anyone this morning with a 1:53.37.

Split Comparison

This was the Hungarian’s first swim of the meet, and it was well worth the wait. He previously ranked 6th in Hungarian history with a 3:47.82 from the Hungarian championships in April, but moves up to tie for top spot now.

Zalan Sarkany dropped six tenths of a second to also qualify for tonight’s final in 6th in 3:46.17, but remains 5th all-time on the Hungarian all-time list. He already has two national records this week in the 800 free (7:41.75) and the 1500 free (14:39.45), as he won bronze and silver, respectively.

Papai now ranks 10th on the all-time junior list, and is the third-fastest 16-year-old in history after Ian Thorpe (3:41.83) and Zhanshuo Zhang (3:45.11).

Men’s 400 Freestyle, All-Time Junior Top Ten

Papai won silver at the European Junior Championships last month behind Grigorii Vekovishchev in 3:47.88, just off his best at that time. He won bronze on the men’s 4×200 free relay in Munich as well, splitting 1:46.33 on the anchor leg.

Today’s swim is significantly faster than the 3:59.88 he swam for 31st at the World Junior Championships last summer, and over seven seconds faster than the 3:52.96 he clocked at the Gyor Open in December 2024. He placed 22nd at the European Junior Championships two years ago in 3:58.81 at the age of 14.

He was not the only junior to drop a new best time in the men’s 400 free heats this morning. French 16-year-old Sauveur Cristofini dropped a second from his previous best to reset the French 17-year-olds record (age at end of year) in 3:46.98, his third lifetime best of the meet after lowering his PB in both the heats (1:45.93) and semi-finals (1:45.74) of the men’s 200 free, the latter of which lands him at #10 on the all-time junior list.

He split 1:45.28 on the men’s 4×200 free relay on the first day as France won a surprise silver out of lane 1, after Leon Marchand led off in a blistering 1:43.76 to move to 6th all-time. Cristofini is the first reserve for tonight’s final, the same position he occupied in the men’s 200 free.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Oliver Papai, 16 Years Old, Ties Kristof Rasovszky’s Hungarian 400 Free Record In 3:45.32

Hence then, the article about oliver papai 16 years old ties kristof rasovszky s hungarian 400 free record in 3 45 32 was published today ( Sunday 16/08/2026 - 02:38 PM ) and is available on swimswam ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Oliver Papai, 16 Years Old, Ties Kristof Rasovszky’s Hungarian 400 Free Record In 3:45.32 )

Also on site :

• Watch the live stream of today’s Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lens match
• 2026 Pan Pacific Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap
• WATCH: Johannes Liebmann’s 14:26 World Record & Other Race Videos From Day 6 of 2026 European Champs