2024 European Junior Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2024 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, July 2nd – Sunday, July 7th
• Prelims at 9:30am local/Finals at 6pm local
• Lazdynai Pool, Vilnius, Lithuania
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entries
• Day 1 Prelims Recap/Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap/Day 2 Finals Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream ($)

Welcome back for Day 3 of the European Junior Championships, with finals of the boys 200 IM, girls 50 freestyle, girls 100 butterfly, boys 1500 free, and girls 4×200 free relay on tap for Thursday night in Lithuania.

There should be some fun showdowns, including an anticipated girls 50 free battle between European junior record holder Sara Curtis and Croatia’s Jan Pavalic, who was just .05 seconds behind the Italian sprinter during Wednesday’s semifinals at 24.78.

The third finals session will also feature semifinals of the both 200 backstrokes, both 200 breaststrokes, boys 50 free, and boys 100 fly.

Stay tuned for live updates below:

GIRLS 200 BACKSTROKE – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 2:03.35, Regan Smith (2019)
• European Junior Record: 2:06.62
• European Record: 2:04.94, Anastasia Fesikova (2009)
• Championship Record: 2:08.97, Polina Egorova (2017)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Dora Molnar (Hungary), 2:11.06

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Aissia Claudia Prisecariu (ROU) – 2:11.45
2. Lise Seidel (GER) – 2:12.29
3. Estella Tonrath (ESP) – 2:12.38
4. Nahia Garrido Malvar (ESP) – 2:12.61
5. Dora Molnar (HUN) – 2:13.08
6. Jinth Engelse (NED) – 2:13.90
7. Natalia Zaiteva (MDA) – 2:14.51
8. Martyna Karabacz (GBR) – 2:14.95

Aissia Claudia Prisecariu snagged the top qualifying spot in the girls 100 back with a time of 2:11.45, within half a second of her personal-best 2:11.00 from last month’s European Championships. The 16-year-old Romanian is closing in on a 24-year-old national record (2:08.16) that Diana Mocanu clocked back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Germany’s Lise Seidel posted the first sub-2:13 effort of her career, qualifying 2nd for Friday’s final in 2:12.29. She shaved almost a second off her previous-best 2:13.07 from last summer.

Estella Tonrath, a 17-year-old Spaniard, is the No. 3 seed for Friday’s final with a time of 2:12.38 in the semifinals. She’s fresh off a huge lifetime best of 2:09.95 from last month’s Spanish Olympic Trials.

BOYS 200 IM – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 1:56.99, Hubert Kos (2021)
• European Junior Record: 1:56.99, Hubert Kos (2021)
• European Record: 1:55.18, Laszlo Cseh (2009)
• Championship Record: 1:59.17, Tom Dean (2018)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Miroslav Knedla (CZE), 2:00.26

PODIUM:

• Gold: Robert-Andrei Badea (ROU) – 2:00.05
• Silver: Nil Cadevall Micolau (ESP) – 2:00.34
• Bronze: Finn Hammer (GER) – 2:01.68

Romania’s Robert-Andrei Badea eked past Spain’s Nil Cadevall Micolau (2:00.34) for the boys 200 IM crown in a personal-best 2:00.05.

Badea, 16, shaved a tenth of a second off his own Romanian record of 2:00.15 from April’s Romanian Championships. He split 25.75 butterfly, 30.15 backstroke, 34.83 breaststroke, and 29.32 freestyle.

Cadevall Micolau was within a few tenths of Badea with his runner-up finish in 2:00.34. He dropped almost two seconds off his previous-best 2:01.99 from February.

Germany’s Finn Hammer rounded out the podium with a 3rd-place finish in 2:01.68. The Georgia commit (’25) took almost a second off his previous-best 2:02.29 from April.

GIRLS 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 24.17, Claire Curzan (2021)
• European Junior Record: 24.56, Sara Curtis (ITA), 2024
• European Record: 23.67, Sarah Sjostrom (2017)
• Championship Record: 24.67, Sara Curtis (ITA), 2024
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Sara Curtis (ITA), 25.14

PODIUM:

• Gold: Sara Curtis (ITA) – 24.68
• Silver: Jana Pavalic (CRO) – 24.92
• Bronze: Skye Carter (GBR) – 25.24

European junior record holder Sara Curtis narrowly missed her own meet record from prelims (24.67) en route to the girls 50 free victory in 24.68. The 17-year-old Italian owns a lifetime best of 24.56 from the Italian Championships in March.

Croatia’s Jana Pavalic earned the runner-up finish in 24.92, slightly slower than her 24.78 from Wednesday’s semifinals. The 17-year-old boasts a career best of 24.67 from last month’s European Championships, where she ultimately placed 5th.

Great Britain’s Skye Carter claimed bronze in 24.24, within a tenth of her personal-best 25.15 from last August’s Commonwealth Youth Games victory. The podium results also showcased growing diversity in the sport as two of the girls 50 free medalists (Curtis and Carter) are Black. Carter also took bronze at last year’s European Junior Championships (25.41) behind Curtis (25.14).

BOYS 50 FREESTYLE – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 21.75, Michael Andrew (2017)
• European Junior Record: 21.83, Artem Selin (2019)
• European Record: 20.94, Frederick Bousquet (2009)
• Championship Record: 21.83, Artem Selin (2019)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Lorenzo Ballarati (Italy) – 22.56

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Lorenzo Ballarati (ITA) – 22.37
2. Nikita Sheremet (UKR) – 22.46
3. Tie: Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) / Tajus Juska (LTU) – 22.58
4. –
5. Vlaho Nenadic (CRO) – 22.59
6. Luca Hoek le Guenedal (ESP) / Maro Miknic (CRO) – 22.64
7. –
8. Justin Cvetkov (SRB) – 22.72

Italy’s Lorenzo Ballarati clinched the top qualifying spot in the boys 50 free with a time of 22.37, lowering his lifetime best from last year’s World Junior Championships (22.38) by one hundredth of a second.

Nikita Sheremet, a Ukrainian currently training in Warsaw, Poland, was 2nd in the semis at 22.46, dropping a couple tenths off her previous-best 22.70 from April.

Italy’s Carlos D’Ambrosio (22.58) tied with Lithuanian 15-year-old phenom Tajus Juska (22.58) for the No. 3 seed. Juska dropped a few tenths off his previous-best 22.84 from February to pull within a second of the Lithuanian record (21.70) set by Simonas Bilis in 2018. For context, Juska would rank 5th in the U.S. 15-16 boys national age group (NAG) rankings at just 15 years old.

GIRLS 200 BREASTSTROKE – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 2:19.64, Viktoria Gunes (2015)
• European Junior Record: 2:19.64, Viktoria Gunes (2015)
• European Record: 2:17.55, Evgeniia Chikunova (2023)
• Championship Record: 2:21.07, Evgeniia Chikunova (2019)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Justine Delmas (France) – 2:25.62

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Hannah Schneider (GER) – 2:29.00
2. Lena Ludwig (GER) – 2:29.31
3. Theodora Taylor (GBR) – 2:29.54
4. Lucrezia Mancini (ITA) – 2:29.77
5. Lisa Nystrand (SWE) – 2:30.11
6. Brigitta Vass (ROU) – 2:30.18
7. Charlotte Bianchi (GBR) – 2:30.73
8. Martina Burkvic (SRB) – 2:30.97

Germany secured the top two qualifying spots in the girls 200 breast courtesy of Hannah Schneider (2:29.00) and Lena Ludwig (2:29.31).

Schneider lowered her previous-best 2:30.37 from prelims this morning. Before this meet, her best time was just 2:34.67 from December.

Ludwig reached the wall within a couple seconds of her personal-best 2:27.68 from last summer.

Great Britain’s Theodora Taylor qualified 3rd in 2:29.54, just off her personal-best 2:29.18 from January.

BOYS 200 BREASTSTROKE – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 2:08.83, Zhihao Dong (2023)
• European Junior Record: 2:09.64
• European Record: 2:06.12, Anton Chupkov (2019)
• Championship Record: 2:10.69, Anton Chupkov (2015)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Steijn Louter (Netherlands) – 2:14.11

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Doruk Yogurtcuoglu (TUR) – 2:12.49
2. Filip Nowacki (GBR) – 2:13.47
3. Max Morgan (GBR) – 2:13.54
4. Kerem Ilyem (TUR) – 2:13.83
5. Evangelos Efraim Ntoumas (GRE) – 2:13.95
6. Maksim Manolov (BUL) – 2:14.01
7. Collin van der Hoff (NED) – 2:14.43
8. Sebastien Capogna (FRA) – 2:14.57

Turkey’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu demolished his best 200 breast time on his way to the top qualifying spot in 2:12.49. His best time before today appears to have been 2:15.19 from last month.

The British duo of Filip Nowacki (2:13.47) and Max Morgan (2:13.54) put up a 2-3 finish in semis, less than a tenth of a second apart. Nowacki crushed his lifetime best of 2:16.05 from last summer while Morgan was a couple seconds off his own British age record of 2:13.88 from April’s Olympic Trials.

BOYS 200 BACKSTROKE – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 1:55.14, Kliment Kolesnikov (2017)
• European Junior Record: 1:55.14, Kliment Kolesnikov (2017)
• European Record: 1:53.23, Evgeny Rylov (2021)
• Championship Record: 1:55.79, Oleksandr Zheltyakov (2023)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Oleksandr Zheltyakov (Ukraine) – 1:55.79

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. John Shortt (IRL) – 1:58.28
2. Daniele del Signore (ITA) – 1:59.64
3. Alexandru Constantinescu (ROU) – 2:00.07
4. Alex Kovats (HUN) – 2:00.10
5. Anton Denysenko (UKR) – 2:00.86
6. Aukan Goldin (ISR) – 2:01.27
7. Oscar Dodds (GBR) – 2:01.86
8. Matteo Venini (ITA) – 2:01.90

John Shortt impressed in the boys 200 back semis with the top qualifying time of 1:58.28, within a few tenths of his Irish record of 1:57.90 from May.

Italy’s Daniele del Signore was the No. 2 qualifier at 1:59.64, only a couple tenths shy of his personal-best 1:59.43 from last year’s European Junior Championships, where he placed 6th.

Romania’s Alexandru Constantinescu qualified 3rd in 2:00.07, dropping more than half a second off his previous-best 2:00.59 from April.

GIRLS 100 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 56.43, Claire Curzan (2021)
• European Junior Record: 56.46
• European Record: 55.48, Sarah Sjostrom (2016)
• Championship Record: 56.95, Lana Pudar (2023)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Lana Pudar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) – 56.95

PODIUM:

• Gold: Martine Damborg (DEN) – 58.75
• Silver: Caterina Santambrogio (ITA) – 59.11
• Bronze: Hollie Widdows (GBR) – 59.16

Denmark’s Martine Damborg picked up the girls 100 fly win in 58.75, a few tenths ahead of Italy’s Caterina Santambrogio (59.11).

Damborg touched within a second of her personal-best 58.09 from April while Santambrogio knocked more than two seconds off her previous-best 1:01.65 from last April.

Britain’s Hollie Widdows rounded out the podium with a 59.16 for bronze. The Notre Dame commit (’24) dropped more than half a second off her previous-best 59.83 from April.

BOYS 100 BUTTERFLY – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 50.62, Kristof Milak (2017)
• European Junior Record: 50.62, Kristof Milak (2017)
• European Record: 49.68, Kristof Milak (2021)
• Championship Record: 51.35, Egor Kuimov (2017)
• 2022 European Junior Champion: Casper Puggaard (Denmark) – 52.67

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Ethan Dumesnil (FRA) – 52.38
2. Daniele Momoni (ITA) / Lukas Edl (AUT) – 52.61
3. –
4. Maro Miknic (CRO) – 52.64
5. Javier Lopez Guillen (ESP) – 52.74
6. Nicholas Finch (GBR) – 52.83
7. Alexandre Philipps (FRA) – 53.21
8. Vlad Stefan Mihalache (ROU) – 53.42

France’s Ethan Dumesnil paced the boys 100 fly semis in 52.38, dropping almost a second off his previous-best 53.24 from last month.

Dumesnil was a couple tenths ahead of Italy’s Daniele Momoni and Austria’s Lukas Edl, who tied for the 2nd qualifying spot in 52.61. Momoni dropped almost a second off his previous-best 53.59 from last September while Edl snuck under his previous-best 52.68, also from last September.

Croatia’s Maro Miknic pulled off a successful double, making the 100 fly final as the fourth qualifier in 52.64 after already qualifying for the 50 free final earlier in the session.

BOYS 1500 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 14:46.09, Franko Grgic (2019)
• European Junior Record: 14:46.09, Franko Grgic (2019)
• European Record: 14:32.80, Gregorio Paltrinieri (2022)
• Championship Record: 14:58.89, Kuzey Tuncelli (2023)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Kuzey Tuncelli (Turkey) – 14:58.89

PODIUM:

• Gold: Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR) – 14:41.89 *World junior record
• Silver: Johannes Liebmann (GER) – 15:04.04
• Bronze: Muhammed Yusuf Ozden (TUR) – 15:19.56

Recent European champion Kuzey Tuncelli continued his hot streak with a world junior record of 14:41.89, crushing Franko Grgic‘s previous standard of 14:46.09 from 2019. The 16-year-old also destroyed his own meet record of 14:58.89 from last year by exactly 17 seconds.

Tuncelli dropped more than 12 seconds off his best time of 14:54.16 from last summer. He won by more than 22 seconds ahead of silver medalist Johannes Liebmann (15:04.04) of Germany.

Fellow Turkish swimmer Muhammed Yusuf Ozden joined Tuncelli on the podium with a 3rd-place finish in 15:19.56.

GIRLS 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 7:51.47, Canada (2017)
• European Junior Record: 7:57.33, Russia (2017)
• European Record: 7:45.51, Great Britain (2009)
• Championship Record: 7:58.99, Hungary (2017)
• 2023 European Junior Champion: Hungary, 8:00.25

PODIUM:

• Gold: Hungary – 8:01.11
• Silver: Italy – 8:01.71
• Bronze: Germany – 8:04.60

Minna Abraham blasted a 1:57.05 anchor to carry her Hungarian squad past Italy (8:01.71) for the victory in 8:01.11.

Lilla Szabo (2:02.87), Dora Molnar (1:59.97), and Vivien Jackl (2:01.22) joined Abraham on Hungary’s winning team.

Lucrezia Domina posted the fastest split for runner-up Italy in 1:59.54.