2024 European Championships: Day 7 Finals Live Recap

2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, June 17th – Sunday, June 23th
• Belgrade, Serbia
• Prelims: 9:30 am local time/Finals: 6:30 pm local time
• LCM (50 meters)
• Psych Sheets 
• Men’s Storylines
• Women’s Storylines
• Live Results
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Live Recap | Day 4 Finals Live Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Live Recap | Day 5 Finals Live Recap
• Day 6 Prelims Live Recap | Day 6 Finals Live Recap
• Day 7 Prelims Live Recap
• Day 7 Finals Heat Sheet

It’s the last session of the 2024 European Championships, and it’s a busy one. The session kicks off with the men’s 1500 freestyle, which was postponed from last night’s finals session due to the storm. Mykhailo Romanchuk and Kuzey Tuncelli are separated by just 0.33-seconds from their prelims times, so it should be an exciting race.

Then we’ll see the shortest event on the schedule, the men’s 50. Greek national record holder Kristian Gkolomeev led a quartet of 21-point swims in semis, though he’s ahead of the field by just under two tenths. It should be a dogfight to make the podium, as seeds 2-4 are only four-hundredths apart.

There are a lot of tight race at the top, including the women’s 50 breaststroke, men’s 100 backstroke, and women’s 400 free which have less than a second separating the top two qualifiers.

The session wraps up with both 4×100 medley relays.

MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 14:31.02 – Sun Yang, China (2012)
• European Record: 14:32.80 – Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy (2022)
• Championship Record: 14:34.04 – Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy (2016)

1. Kunzey Tuncello (TUR) – 14:55.64
2. Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) – 15:00.99
3. Zalan Sarkany (HUN) – 15:06.67
4. Nathan Wiffen (IRL) – 15:10.64
5. Laszlo Galicz (HUN) – 15:23.48
6. Bartosz Kapala (POL) – 15:26.22
7. Marin Mogic (CRO) – 15:32.59

It was an exciting race to kick off the session, as four men were within a second of each other through the halfway point.

Kunzey Tuncello jumped to an early lead at the 250 meter mark, but then Ireland’s Nathan Wiffen took over. Wiffen continued to hold a narrow lead through the halfway point, at which point top seed Mykhail Romanchuk took over.

Romanchuk couldn’t hang onto the lead for long, though, as Tuncelli took over the lead by under two-tenths of a second at the 950. Wiffen began to fade as Tuncelli extended his lead.

It was Tuncelli at the finish (14:55.64), over five seconds ahead of Romanchuk. That gives Turkey their second gold medal of these championships, and their second European swimming title ever.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 20.91 – Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
• European Record: 20.94 – Frederick Bousquet, France (2009)
• Championship Record: 21.11 – Ben Proud, Great Britain (2018)

1. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) – 21.72
2. Stergios Marios Bilas (GRE) – 21.73
3. Vladyslav Bukhov (UKR) – 21.85
4. Piotr Ludwiczak (POL) – 21.90
5. Andrej Barna (SRB) – 21.93
6. Jere Hribar (CRO) – 21.99
7. Szebasztian Szabo (HUN) – 22.09
8. Shane Ryan (IRL) – 22.17

After separating himself from the field in semis, Kristian Gkolomeev positioned himself as the man to beat in the men’s 50. But his teammate Stergois Marios Bilas wasn’t going to let him waltz to the title, as he scorched a 21.73 from all the way in lane 8 to give Greece a 1-2 finish on the podium.

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov dropped about a tenth from seed for the bronze.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• European Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• Championship Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)

1. Dominika Sztandera (POL) – 30.55 Polish Record
2. Veera Kivirinta (FIN) – 30.65
3. Olivia Klint Ipsa (SWE) – 30.90
4. Maria Thaleia Drasidou (GRE) – 30.95
5. Teya Nikolova (BUL) – 30.97
6. Ida Hulkko (FIN) – 30.99
7. Ana Rodrigues (POR) – 31.08
8. Schastine Tabor (DEN) – 31.48

Dominika Sztandera dropped 0.31-tenths from her prelims performance to punch a new Polish record, finishing exactly a tenth ahead of Veera Kivirinta.

The race for bronze was incredibly close, with just nine-hundredths of a second separating 3rd from 6th. Olivia Klint Ipsa of Sweden got her hand to the wall first, clocking 30.90 to improve on her prelims time of 31.15.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon, Italy (2022)
• European Record: 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon, Italy (2022)
• Championship Record: 52.11 – Camille LaCourt, France (2010)

1. Apostolos Christou (GRE) – 52.23
2. Evangelos Makrygiannis (GRE) – 52.83
3. Ksawery Masiuk (POL) – 53.56
4. Oleksandr Zheltiakov (UKR) – 53.85
5. Kacper Stokowski (POL) – 53.90
6. Adam Jaszo (HUN) – 54.56
7. Matthew Ward (GBR) – 54.93
8. Michael Laitarovsky (ISR) – 55.23

Greece recorded their second 1-2 finish of the session in the men’s 100 backstroke, as Apostolos Christou and Evangelos Makrygiannis battled through windy conditions to top the field. They were the only two swimmers under 53 in the final.

The pair faced a challenge from Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk, who was 2nd at the 50 (25.74), but Makrygiannis used the second fastest back-half of the field to pull himself into silver medal position. Masiuk settled for bronze.

Christou’s time sits at #3 in the world this season, only behind Xu Jiayu and Ryan Murphy. This was his first swim under 53 this season.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Record: 2:01.81 – Zige Liu, China (2009)
• European Record: 2:04.27 – Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2009)
• Championship Record: 2:04.79 – Mireia Belmonte, Spain (2014)

1. Helena Bach (DEN) – 2:07.88
2. Lana Pudar (BIH) – 2:08.15
3. Boglarka Telegdy Kapas (HUN) – 2:08.22
4. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (HUN) – 2:10.26
5. Georgia Damasioti (GRE) – 2:10.77
6. Anja Crevar (SRB) – 2:12.10
7. Lucy Grieve (GBR) – 2:12.12
8. Laura Lahtinen (FIN) – 2:14.03

Laura Lahtinen blasted out to an early lead from lane 1 (28.75), but it soon became clear that the race would be in the center of the pool.

Helena Bach took over the lead at the 100 and didn’t look back. Lana Pudar made a strong charge at the end, out-splitting Bach 1:06.34 to 1:06.78, but it wasn’t enough to overcome her early lead.

Boglarka Telegdy Kapas had a heroic swim, moving all the way from 8th at the first 50 to 3rd by the finish.

WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 3:55.38 – Ariarne Titmus, Australia (2023)
• European Record: 3:59.15 – Federica Pellegrini, Italy (2009)
• Championship Record: 4:01.53 – Federica Pellegrini, Italy (2008)

1. Ajna Kesely (HUN) – 4:06.56
2. Barbora Seemanova (CZE) – 4:06.72
3. Francicsa Martins (POR) – 4:10.94
4. Fleur Lewis (GBR) – 4:13.16
5. Maya Werner (GER) – 4:14.24
6. Vanna Djakovic (SUI) – 4:15.32
7. Deniz Ertan (TUR) – 4:17.92
8. Iman Avdic (BIH) – 4:21.95

100 and 200 freestyle champion Barbara Seemanova was out like a rocket in lane 7, holding the lead through the 200. She started to fatigue in the third 100, as Ajna Keseley, the 800 free champion, pulled even by the 300.

Seemanova dug deep in the final 25 meters, but Keseley held on to touch just 16-hundredths ahead for the gold.

Francisca Martin swam a strong race for bronze, lowering her prelims time by nearly four seconds.

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 3:40.07 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
• European Record: 3:40.07 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
• Championship Record: 3:42.50 – Lukas Martens, Germany (2022)

1. Felix Auboeck (AUT) – 3:43.24 Austrian Record
2. Dimitrios Markos (GRE) – 3:47.44
3. Antonio Djakovic (SUI) – 3:47.62
4. Danas Rapsys (LTU) – 3;47.87
5. Bar Soloveychik (ISR) – 3:48.47
6. Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL) – 3:50.24
7. Ondrej Gemov (CZE) – 3:51.46
8. Jon Joentvedt (NOR) – 3:53.79

It quickly became clear that Felix Auboeck would run away with the final individual race of the meet. He swam a dominant race from start to finish, eventually touching over four seconds ahead of silver medalist Dimitrios Markos and knocking 0.34-seconds off his personal best and national record.

Danas Rapsys and Antonio Djakovic traded 2nd and 3rd throughout the race, but it was Markos who powered home in 26.80. That was the fastest final 50 of the field, and adds another medal to a strong session for Greece.

WOMEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:50.40 – USA (2019)
• European Record: 3:53.38 Russian Federation (2017)
• Championship Record: 3:54.01 – Great Britain (2021)

1. Poland (Piskorska, Sztandera, Peda, Fiedkiewicz) – 3:58.71 Polish Record
2. Hungary (Komoroczy, Bekesi, Ugrai, Padar) – 4:01.50
3. Danmark (Tabor, Rybak-Andersen, Bach, Janesen) – 4:02.03
4. Sweden (Rosvall, Klint, Junevik, Morstrand) – 4:02.27
5. Greece (Drakou, Angelaki, Damasioti, Drasidou) – 4:05.05
6. Israel (Spitz, Golovaty, Hayon, Murez) – 4:08.47
7. Slovenia (Segel, Celik, Sekuti, Pintar) – 4:08.85
8. Slovakia (Potocka, Podmanikova, Ripkova, Ivan) – 4:09.34

Poland grabbed an early lead after the backstroke leg thanks to Adela Piskorska who split 1:00.40 for the fastest time of the field. She was off her winning time in the 100 back from earlier in the meet (59.79), but it was enough to give her teammates a half-second lead going into the breaststroke.

Dominika Sztandera was up next, who dropped 1:06.07 on the breaststroke leg. That was over 1.5 seconds faster than what she swam in the individual race for 4th. Her split was also the fastest of the field.

Paulina Peda did what she had to do to keep Poland in the lead (58.15), and then had a two second lead by the time Kornelia Fiedkiewicz hit the water.

Their overall time is a new Polish record.

Other notable splits come from Sara Junevik, who had the fastest fly split (57.39) and Nikolett Padar, who had the fastest free split (54.02).

MEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:26.78 – USA (2021)
• European Record: 3:27.51 – Great Britain (2021)
• Championship Record: 3:28.46 – Italy (2022)

1. Austria (Reitshammer, Bayer, Bucher, Gigler) – 3:33.41
2. Poland (Masiuk, Kalusowski, Majerski, Sieradzki) – 3:33.44
3. Ukraine (Zheltiakov, Lisovets, Kovalov, Linnyk) – 3:33.50
4. Hungary (Jaszo, Sos, Kos, Szabo) – 3:35.05
5. Denmark (Pedersen, Elsgaard, Puggaard, Lentz) – 3:35.30
6. Germany (Jahn, De Geus, Kammann, Varjasi) – 3:35.44
7. Serbia (Kovacevic, Zivanovic, Matic, Acin) – 3:38.23
8. Israel (Gerchik, Pitshugin, Glivinskiy, Kartavi) – 3:38.82

It looked like Ukraine would nab the final title of the meet, as Oleksandr Zheltiakov (53.91), Volodymyr Lisovets (58.96), and Arsenii Kovalov (51.90) had over a second lead heading into the anchor legs.

But Austria and Poland started to rally on the butterfly. Simon Bucher (51.42) and Jakub Majerski (51.17) had already out-split Kovalov in their efforts.

It was Heiko Gigler who cemented the gold for Austria, splitting a massive 47.58 to out-touch Polish anchor Kamil Sieradzki by just three-hundredths of a second. Ukraine settled for bronze, as Illia Linnyk (48.73) just couldn’t keep up.