2022 European Junior Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2022 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, July 5th – Sunday, July 10th
• Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex, Bucharest, Romania
• LCM (50m)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 10 a.m. local / 3 a.m. ET
  • Finals: 5 p.m. local / 10 a.m. ET
• Meet Central
• Entries
• Live Results
• Live Stream

All eyes are on Romania’s David Popovici heading into the 200 freestyle semifinal on day one of the 2022 European Junior Championships. He recently set the world junior record in this event to win gold at the 2022 World Championships, becoming the youngest 200 freestyle world champion in history. Popovici swept the 50 free, 100 free, and 200 free at this meet in 2021.

Defending champions also earned the top semifinals spots in the girls’ 200 freestyle led by Hungary’s Nikoletta Padar and the boys’ 200 butterfly led by Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland. Chmielewski placed 9th in this event at the World Championships less than two weeks ago in the semifinal, narrowly missing the final.

The majority of the session will be a stroke splash and dash, featuring the 50 back and 50 breast. We will also see the girls’ 400 IM, boys’ 200 free, and the girls and boys’ 4×100 freestyle relay.

Girls’ 400 IM – Final

• World Junior Record: 4:32.04 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2022)
• European Junior Record: 4:38.53 – Alba Vasquez Ruiz, ESP (2019)
• European Junior Championship Record: 4:40.64 – Alba Vasquez Ruiz, ESP (2019)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Katie Shanahan (GBR) – 4:42.59

1. Emma Carrasco Cadens (ESP) – 4:46.39
2. Belis Sakar (TUR) – 4:47.11
3. Vivien Jackl (HUN) – 4:47.51

Turkey’s Belis Sakar had the early lead, turning at 1:04.42 after the butterfly. But, Spain’s Emma Carrasco Cadens devoured Sakar’s 2.5-second lead during the breaststroke leg, turning at 3:40.33 compared to Sakar’s 3:42.10 when they were headed into the final 100 meters.

Hungary’s Vivien Jackl dominated the backstroke segment of the race, flipping at 2:16.24 at the 200-meter mark with a one-second lead over Sakar who was in second place. While Jackl slipped behind on the breaststroke, she blasted a sub 33-second final 50 split to out touch 4th place finisher Lisa Nystrand of Sweden by .14.

Carrasco Cadens came within .16 of her lifetime best time from the 2021 Mare Nostrum. Sakar crushed her previous best time by more than 2.5 seconds while Jackl swam a 4:45.82 at the recent Hungarian Youth Championships in June.

Girls’ 200 Freestyle – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 1:54.79 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2022)
• European Junior Record: 1:56.78
• European Junior Championship Record: 1:57.51 – Isabel Gose, GER (2019)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Nikoletta Padar (HUN) – 1:59.38

1. Nikoletta Padar (HUN) – 1:58.86
2. Giulia Vetrano (ITA) – 1:59.94
3. Merve Tuncel (TUR) – 2:00.52
4. Daria Golovati (ISR) – 2:01.43
5. Giulia Rossi-Bene (FRA) – 2:01.69
6. Lili Gyurinovics (HUN) – 2:01.76
7. Maya Werner (GER) – 2:02.13
8. Cristina Ciobanu Spataru (ESP) – 2:02.37

Hungary’s Padar claimed the top finals spot with a one-second lead over the field. She had the fastest opening speed, splitting a 28.18 on the first 50 meters, and the fastest closing speed, splitting a 30.20 on the last 50. Only one other swimmer split sub 31.00 on the last 50 and it was Italy’s Giulia Vetrano who finished the race in 30.71 to claim 2nd place. Padar beat the time it took for her to win this event at the 2021 European Junior Championships by half a second.

This was a big swim for Daria Golovati who missed the final last year after finishing 12th in the semifinal. Her lifetime-best time still stands at 1:59.67 from May. Merve Tuncel was also slightly off her lifetime best time which she set at 1:59.70 in 2021.

Boys’ 200 Freestyle – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 1:43.21 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)
• European Junior Record: 1:43.21 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)
• European Junior Championship Record: 1:45.26 – David Popovici, ROU (2021)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: David Popovici (ROU) – 1:45.95

1. Lorenzo Galossi (ITA) – 1:47.73
2. David Popovici (ROU) – 1:47.93
3. Daniil Pancerevas (LTU) – 1:49.26
4. Evan Jones (GBR) – 1:49.80
5. Daniel Meszaros (HUN) – 1:49.82
6. Jacob Whittle (GBR) – 1:49.91
7. Jakub Walter (POL) – 1:50.00
8. Attila Kovacs (HUN) – 1:50.27

Italian 16-year-old Lorenzo Galossi blasted a lifetime best time to earn the top finals spot, crushing his previous best by almost half a second. Popovici actually had the fastest first 50 split of 24.57, as the only swimmer to crack 25.00 on the first length, but he eased up on the third 50 with a 29.13, the slowest third 50 split in the field. He may have been conserving energy for the 4×100 freestyle later in the session. Galossi’s 27.13 on the third 50 earned him the win in the semifinal, but who knows what we’ll see from Popovici in the final as he swam a 1:43 in Budapest.

Four other boys cracked the 1:50.00 mark with 1:49’s as well, setting up a tight race in the finals. This was a lifetime best time for Lithuania’s Daniil Pancerevas as well; he shaved .14 off his previous best from 2020.

Girls’ 50 Backstroke – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton, AUS (2016)
• European Junior Record: 27.51 – Daria Vaskina, RUS (2019)
• European Junior Championship Record: 27.82 – Daria Vaskina, RUS (2019)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Carmen Weiler Sastre (ESP) – 28.42

1. Mary-Ambre Moluh (FRA) – 27.75
2. Lora Komoroczy (HUN) – 28.41
3. Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL) – 28.50
4. Anna Maria Boerstler (GER) – 28.69
5. Sara Curtis (ITA) – 28.98
6. Nika Sharafutdinova (UKR) – 29.00
7. Laura Bernat (POL) – 29.08
8. Rebecca-Aimee Diaconescu (ROU) – 29.34

France’s Mary-Ambre Moluh shaved .07 off the championship record set by Russia’s Daria Vaskina in 2019 to earn the top finals spot. Moluh has had an incredible summer season already, becoming the youngest French woman under the 1-minute mark in the 100 back in April. Her best 50 back time still stands at 27.00 so watch out for what she may do in the final tomorrow night.

Roos Vanotterdijk cracked the Belgian National record to claim the third spot in the semifinal. She took .48 off her lifetime best time from April. Lora Komoroczy nearly tied her best time from the Hungarian Championships in April where she swam a 28.40.

Boys’ 50 Backstroke – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2018)
• European Junior Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2018)
• European Junior Championship Record: 24.52 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2018)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Aleksei Tkachev (RUS) – 25.14

1. Ksawery Masiuk (POL) – 24.74
2. Jonathon Marshall (GBR) – 25.30
3. Inbar Danziger (ISR) – 25.32 / Aron Szekely (HUN) – 25.32
4. –
5. Miroslav Knedla (CZE) – 25.42
6. Matthew Ward (GBR) – 25.50
7. Yohan Airaud (FRA) – 25.55
8. Robert Falborg Pedersen (DEN) – 25.57

Only one swimmer cracked the 25.00 mark in this race and it was Polish national record holder Ksawery Masiuk. He claimed the top finals spot with a solid .56 lead over the field but he was still about one-third of a second off his best time from the 2022 World Championships. He is coming off a bronze medal win in this event in Budapest two weeks ago.

This was a great swim for Great Britain’s Jonny Marshall who took .28 off his lifetime best time from prelims. He trains with Firestone Akron Swim Team in the United States and is committed to the University of Florida for the fall of 2023. Israel’s Inbar Danziger and Hungary’s Aron Szekely tied for the third finals spot. They also swam faster than their prelims times to post lifetime best times.

Girls’ 50 Breaststroke – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato, ITA (2021)
• European Junior Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato, ITA (2021)
• European Junior Championship Record: 29.75 – Benedetta Pilato, ITA (2021)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Benedetta Pilato (ITA) – 30.13

1. Eneli Jefimova (EST) – 30.59
2. Karolina Piechowicz (POL) – 31.44
3. Chiara Della Corte (ITA) – 31.48
4. Olivia Klint Ipsa (SWE) / Schastine Skifter Tabor (DEN) – 31.49
5. –
6. Maria Ramos Najji (ESP) – 31.65
7. Justine Delmas (FRA) – 31.71
8. Kamila Isayeva (UKR) – 31.73

Eneli Jefimova claimed the top finals spot with a comfortable .8 lead over the field. She set the Estonian national record in this event at the World Championships with a 30.08 and ended up placing 6th.

One national record did fall here in Romania though, and it was broken by Serbia’s Martina Bukvic who placed 9th with a time of 31.83. The previous record was set at 32.08 by Nada Higl in 2009 and then tied by Nina Stanisavljevic at the 2019 World Junior Championships.

Poland’s Karolina Piechowicz won heat one to claim the second finals spot just .04 ahead of Italy’s Chiara Della Corte in heat two. Piechowicz came within about.15 of her best time while Della Corte took .19 off her lifetime best time from prelims.

Boys’ 50 Breaststroke – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)
• European Junior Record: 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)
• European Junior Championship Record: 27.23 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Simone Cerasuolo (ITA) – 27.29

1. Koen de Groot (NED) – 27.61
2. Uros Zivanovic (SRB) – 27.64
3. Volodymyr Lisovets (UKR) – 27.72
4. Alex Sabattani (ITA) – 27.76
5. Davin Lindholm (FIN) / Elliot Woodburn (GBR) – 27.94
6. –
7. Federico Rizzardi (ITA) – 28.11
8. Ralf Roose (EST) – 28.12

The Netherlands’ Koen de Groot shaved .23 off his prelims time to snag the top finals spot narrowly ahead of Serbia’s Uros Zivanovic. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets won bronze in this event at the 2021 European Junior Championships with a time of 27.94, so this swim sets him up nicely to medal again. But he will likely have to keep swimming faster than he did at last year’s championships.

Boys’ 200 Butterfly – Semifinal

• World Junior Record: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
• European Junior Record: 1:52.71 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2018)
• European Junior Championship Record: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2018)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL) – 1:56.29

1. Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL) -1:56.36
2. Michal Chmielewski (POL) – 1:57.85
3. Ramil Valizada (AZE) – 1:58.98
4. Petar Mitsin (BUL) – 1:59.17
5. Louis Schubert (GER) – 1:59.76
6. Andrea Camozzi (ITA) – 2:00.32
7. Olaf Cserfalvi (HUN) – 2:00.33
8. Mark Horvath (AUT) – 2:00.44

Don’t worry, you’re not seeing double. Twin brothers Krzysztof and Michal Chmielewski topped the 200 fly semifinal, winning heats two and one, respectively. Krzysztof is the defending champion in this event with a seed time of 1:55.01. Michal won silver behind his brother at the 2021 European Junior Championships and they might just do it again this year.

What really set Krzysztof apart was his opening 50 meter split of 25.74 and closing speed of 30.29 on the final 50. No one else cracked 26.00 on the first 50.

Azerbaijan’s Ramil Valizada took more than half a second off his prelims time to snag the third finals spot.

Girls’ 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Final

• World Junior Record: 3:36.19 – Canada (2017)
• European Junior Record: 3:39.91
• European Junior Championship Record: 3:40.10 – Russia (2021)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Russia – 3:10.10

1. Italy (Quaggio/Cacciapuoti/Curtis/Biagiotti) – 3:42.98
2. France (Moluh/Preiter/Trompette/Rossi-Bene) – 3:43.49
3. Germany (Finger/Springer/Werner/Jazy) – 3:45.63

Less than an hour after setting the 50 back championship record, Moluh led off France’s relay with the second-fastest first 100 split in the field of 55.62.

France had the lead through the third leg where Melora Trompette hit the wall at 2:48.10 compared to Sara Curtis‘ 2:48.18. But it was Italy’s Matilde Biagiotti who took the lead on the final 100 after splitting a blistering 54.80. She had the second-fastest anchor leg split after Nina Sandrine Jazy who swam a 54.65 to help Germany out touch 4th place finisher Great Britain by .02.

Croatia cracked their national record to place 6th with a time of 3:49.56.

While Hungary’s relay finished 8th (3:54.60), they had the fastest first and last legs in the entire field. Padar led off the race with a time of 55.37 while Dora Molnar anchored in 54.13. Their middle splits of 1:07.73 by Ratkai and 57.37 by Gyurinovics set them behind, though. This was an especially odd swim from Ratkai who split a 56.81 in prelims to help the team secure the 2nd spot going into the final. Reportedly, she inhaled water during the race and had to stop briefly at the 60-meter mark before continuing.

Boys’ 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Final

• World Junior Record: 3:15.80 – United States (2019)
• European Junior Record: 3:16.26 – Russia (2019)
• European Junior Championship Record: 3:16.58 – Italy (2009)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Russia – 3:19.66

1. Romania (Popovici/Stancu/Cozma/Dinu) – 3:18.93
2. Great Britain (Whittle/Painter/Jones/Rowbotham) – 3:19.01
3. Italy (Galossi/Codardini/Passafaro/Lazzari) – 3:19.42

David Popovici blasted a 47.54 to lead-off this relay, outdoing the 47.76 he split to lead it off in prelims. This is his third-fastest swim ever, trailing only his performance at Worlds (47.13) and the 2021 European Junior Championships (2021). Great Britain’s Jacob Whittle had the second-fastest leadoff split today with a time of 48.69.

While Romania had the lead initially, Great Britain ran them down on the second leg where Alexander Painter split a 49.91 compared to Vlad-Stefan Stancu‘s 51.11. Evan Jones extended the Brits’ lead with another sub-50.00 split of 49.80 compared to Stefan Cozma’s 50.56 but Romania’s anchor Patrick-Sebastian Dinu devoured Great Britain’s lead with a final split of 49.72.

Italy’s relay was very consistent, starting with a 50.08 from Galossi and then splitting three 49’s to finish the race (including a blistering 49.49 from Lazzari). But it wasn’t enough to catch Great Britain. Notably, Poland’s Masiuk swam the fastest anchor split in the field with a time of 48.24. Poland finished 4th (3:20.38).

There was one disqualification, from Croatia.