17-Year-Old Filip Nowacki Rips 2:08.32 In 200 Breast To Lower Own European Junior Record

2025 European Junior Championships

• Tuesday, July 1 – Sunday, July 6
• X-bionic® sphere Pool, Šamorín, Slovakia
• LCM (50m)
• Start Times – Local: Prelims – 9:30 am / Finals – 6:00 pm
• Start Times – EST: Prelims – 3:30 am / Finals – 12:00 pm
• SwimSwam Preview
• Meet Central
• Entries (by event)
• Entries (by country)
• Live European Aquatics Results
• Livestream (Pay-To-Watch)
• Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Night four of the 2025 European Junior Swimming Championships is underway from Šamorín, Slovakia, and early into the session a European Junior Record has already fallen.

After logging 2:09.11 to lead the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke yesterday, 17-year-old Filip Nowacki of Great Britain threw down a time of 2:08.32 to win gold tonight. That performance chips 0.79 seconds off his own previous record set less than 12 hours ago.

Nowacki took a much more aggressive approach in tonight’s swim compared to yesterday’s semifinal. He opened three-and-a-half tenths faster on the first 50, turned two tenths quicker on the second 50 to put himself half a second under his own record pace at the halfway mark, then outsplit his third 50 by three hundredths and closed nearly two tenths faster on the final lap. See a full split comparison between the two swims below.

The 17-year-old’s swim stands over two seconds faster than the championship record of 2:10.79 set by Anton Chupkov back in 2015, prior to the meet starting.

The European junior record of 2:09.64 also belonged to Chupkov before competition began here in Šamorín, until Nowacki first broke it yesterday. Chupkov, who won the 2017 and 2019 world titles in the 200 breast in addition to Olympic bronze in 2016, held the overall European Record at 2:06.12 until Leon Marchand broke it en route to gold at the Paris Olympics last July in 2:05.85.

Nowacki came into the meet with a best time of 2:10.53 posted at the end of May at the AP London Race International meet. He claimed runner-up status at the British World Championship trials at the end of April with his best time prior to that at 2:11.09, and before that swim it rested at 2:12.74. This means he has dropped 4.42 seconds so far in 2025.

The teenager, who trains at Millfield under coach Kieron Piper, now sits eighth in the world standings on the season, with this meet representing his big taper meet of the season since he was not selected to represent Team GB at the World Championships in Singapore later this month.

Nowacki is now the fifth-quickest British man of all time in the 200 breast and sits as the second-fastest 17-year-old and under swimmer of all time, while ranking fifth in the all-time junior rankings.

Top 5 British Men’s LCM 200 Breaststroke Performers All-Time:

1. Ross Murdoch – 2:07.30 (2014)
2. Michael Jamieson – 2:07.43 (2012)
3. James Wilby – 2:07.49 (2019)
4. Andrew Willis – 2:07.73 (2016)
5. Filip Nowacki – 2:08.32 (2025)*

Boys’ 200 Breaststroke 17 & Under All-Time Top 10 Rankings:

1. Shin Ohashi (JPN) – 2:07.27 (2025)
2. Filip Nowacki (GBR) – 2:08.32 (2025)*
3. Josh Matheny (USA) – 2:09.40 (2019)
4. Alexander Zhigalov (RUS) – 2:10.36 (2019)
5. Ippei Miyamoto (JPN) – 2:10.51 (2016)
6. Daniel Gyurta (HUN) – 2:10.75 (2004)
7. Reece Whitley (USA) – 2:10.82 (2017)
8. Yuta Arai (JPN) – 2:10.84 (2019)
9. Josh Bey (USA) – 2:11.02 (2024)
10. Christian Vom Lehn (GER) – 2:11.07 (2009)

Boys’ 200 Breaststroke Junior All-Time Top 10 Rankings:

1. Akihiro Yamaguchi (JPN) – 2:07.01 (2012)
2. Shin Ohashi (JPN) — 2:07.27 (2025)
3. Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 2:07.35 (2017)
4. Dong Zhihao (CHN) – 2:08.04 (2023)
5. Filip Nowacki (GBR) – 2:08.32 (2025)*
6. Shoma Sato (JPN) – 2:09.21 (2019)
7. Josh Matheny (USA) – 2:09.40 (2019)
8. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:09.64 (2015)
9. Gabe Nunziata (USA) — 2:09.71 (2025)
10. Daniel Roy (USA) – 2:09.73 (2018)

Earlier in the week, Nowacki earned silver in the 50 breast and broke the British age record twice, first with a 27.63 in the semifinals and then lowering it to 27.61 in the final. Prior to the meet, the record stood at 27.64, set by fellow 17-year-old Max Morgan when he won the national title at the Great Britain Swimming Championships in April.

The 100 breast is Nowacki’s only individual event remaining, in which he will swim prelims and semifinals on Saturday and finals, presuming he safely qualifies, on Sunday. His best time in that race is 1:00.25. The European Junior Record and World Junior Record sit at 59.01, set by reigning Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy back in 2017.

Race Video:

Filip Nowacki breaks his own 200 breaststroke European Junior Record from yesterday – 2:08.32 @pullbuoy pic.twitter.com/yJQM4F2qFQ

— Paul Griffin (@PGriffinFC) July 4, 2025