2025 European Junior Championships: Day Four Finals Live Recap

2025 European Junior Championships

• Tuesday, July 1 – Sunday, July
• 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 four of the 2025 European Junior Championships is upon us with a set of high-octane finals and semi-finals on tonight’s agenda.

We have a chance to see potential repeat champions in both the girls’ and boys’ 200m backstroke events, as Spain’s Estella Nollgen leads the former and Ireland’s John Shortt heads up the latter.

The boys’ 100m fly and 50m free finals are also on the horizon, with a chance to see Spanish 17-year-old Luca Hoek le Guenedal lower his head-turning 21.99 in yesterday’s splash n’ dash semi-finals.

Add in the boys’ 400m IM, the 200m breaststroke races and the mixed medley and record watch tonight is in full effect.

BOYS 100 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• 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)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Daniele Momoni (ITA), 52.20

GOLD – Tajus Juska (LTU), 52.54
SILVER – Dean Fearn (GBR), 52.64
BRONZE – Isak Fernandez Rodrigo (ESP), 52.72

16-year-old Tajus Juska kicked off the evening with a solid victory in the boys’ 100m butterfly, producing a time of 52.54 to take the gold by just .10.

Juska of Lithuanian opened in 24.40 and closed in 28.14 to get the job done, keeping British rising ace Dean Fearn at bay.

Fearn settled for silver a fingernail behind in 52.64 while Isak Fernandez Rodrigo of Spain rounded out the top 3 performers.

Juska’s performance was slightly off his lifetime best of 52.46 logged in April of this year while Fearn lowered his newly-minted PB 52.66 turned in during last night’s semi-finals.

Juska already earned 200m free silver at these championships and is slated to race the 50m free final later in this session.

GIRLS 100 FREESTYLE – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 52.70, Penelope Oleksiak (2016)
• European Junior Record: 53.61, Freya Anderson (2018)
• European Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (2017)
• Championship Record: 53.97, Marrit Steenbergen (2015)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Sara Curtis (ITA), 54.22

Top 8:

1. Maria Daza Garcia (ESP), 54.40
2. Grace Davison (IRL), 54.95
3. Theodora Taylor (GBR), 55.05
4. Alessandra Leoni (ITA), 55.33
5. Linda Roth (GER), 55.35
6. Kira Manokhina (AIN), 55.42
7. Albane Cachot (FRA), 55.43
8. Martine Damborg (DEN), 55.44

The entire girls’ 50m freestyle podium made it into the top 8 of the 100m free, with Martine Damborg of Denmark, Theodora Taylor of Great Britain and Kira Manokhina of the neutral athlete group safely through.

It was Spain’s Maria Daza Garcia, however, who soared to the top seed in 54.40, faster than the 54.83 produced this morning and speedier than her previous PB of 54.50 from last year.

That holds an over half-a-second advantage over Ireland’s Grace Davison who nabbed the 2nd seed in 54.95, vying for her nation’s first medal at this competition. That checked in as her first-ever sub-55-second swim.

Taylor was 3rd in 55.05 and the rest of the field is separated just .10.

BOYS 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 2:08.83, Zhihao Dong (2023)
• European Junior Record: 2:09.11, Filip Nowacki (2025)
• European Record: 2:06.12, Anton Chupkov (2019)
• Championship Record: 2:09.11, Filip Nowacki (2025)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Doruk Yogurtcuoglu (TUR), 2:12.66

GOLD – Filip Nowacki (GBR), 2:08.32 *European Junior Record, Championship Record
SILVER – Doruk Yogurtcuoglu (TUR), 2:09.92
BRONZE – Michele Longobardo (ITA), 2:10.88

Another 200m breaststroke race brings us another European Junior Record at the hands of 17-year-old Filip Nowacki of Great Britain.

Nowacki knocked it out of the park, hitting a monster 2:08.32 to destroy the 2:09.11 former Euro Jr mark he put on the books during last night’s semi-final.

Nowacki split 29.08/32.41 (1:01.49)/33.26/33.57 to deny Turkey’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu a repeat title with the Turk settling for silver well back in a still-respectable 2:09.92.

Italy’s Michele Longobardo wrangled up bronze in 2:10.88.

Before this competition, Nowacki’s personal best rested at the 2:10.53 he notched at the AP Race International this past May to rank 11th on the all-time GBR list with an Age Record to boot. That’s a significant time drop down to 2:08.32 in just a matter of over a month

Teen Nowacki now checks in as the 5th-best British performer of all time, with the list boasting such icons as Ross Murdoch, Michael Jamieson, James Wilby, Andrew Willis and Adam Peaty. He actually knocked Olympic champion Peaty out of the top 5 list.

Top 5 British Men’s LCM 100 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

Nowacki now ranks 8th in the world. It’s important to note that, as impressive as Nowacki’s swim was, Japan’s Shin Ohashi, just 16 years of age, recently set the new World Junior Record at a head-turning 2:07.27.

GIRLS 200 BUTTERFLY – SEMIFINAL

• World Junior Record: 2:04.70, Summer McIntosh (2023)
• European Junior Record: 2:06.71
• European Record: 2:04.27, Katinka Hosszu (2009)
• Championship Record: 2:08.41, Anastasia Markova (2021)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Sarah Dumont (BEL), 2:09.64

Top 8:

1. Edith Price (GBR), 2:10.13
2. Sarah Dumont (BEL), 2:11.28
3. Alina Baievych (GER), 2:11.68
4. Serafima Fokina (AIN), 2:11.95
5. Leni von Bonin (GER), 2:12.03
6. Anastasiia Kolpakova (AIN), 2:12.93
7. Anastasiia Mikhalevich (UKR), 2:13.71
8. Sofia Dzhura (UKR), 2:13.76

Nothing too crazy transpired in the semi-finals of the girls’ 200m butterfly as we’re seeking our first sub-2:10 swimmer of the competition.

Great Britain’s Edith Price came close, registering a time of 2:10.13 to land lane 4 for tomorrow night’s main event. That cleared the field by well over a second, beating 2024 European Junior Championships gold medalist Sarah Dumont of Belgium who snagged the 2nd seed in 2:11.68.

Rising star Alina Baievych of Germany will flank Price on the other side tomorrow night, courtesy of the 2:11.68 which garnered her the 3rd seed.

Teammate Leni von Bonin made the grade as the 5th seed in 2:12.03 while a pair of neutral athletes and Ukrainian athletes will also appear in tomorrow night’s medal-contending affair.

As for 16-year-old Price, her 2:10.13 outing destroyed her previous career-swiftest mark, a time of 2:12.70 posted in March of this year. She now becomes GBR’s 17th-quickest female in history.

BOYS 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• 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)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Lorenzo Ballarati (ITA), 22.20

GOLD – Tajus Juska (LTU), 22.14
SILVER – Nikita Sheremet (UKR), 22.17
BRONZE – Luca Hoek le Guenedal (ESP), 22.28

16-year-old Tajus Juska of Lithuania claimed his second gold of the evening, following up his impressive 100m butterfly championship title with a top finish in this boys’ 50m free.

Entering tonight’s final as the 4th-seeded swimmer (22.42), the teen unleashed a time of 22.14 to get to the wall first. That knocked .20 off his previous PB and Lithuanian Age Record of 22.34 nabbed last year.

Behind him tonight by just .03 was Ukraine’s Nikita Sheremet, giving his nation its first medal of the meet. He touched in 22.17, a big-time PB by .29.

Leader out of the semi-finals with a new Spanish national record of 21.99, 17-year-old Luca Hoek le Guenedal fell to 3rd, posting 22.28 to still land on the podium.

GIRLS 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• 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)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Lena Ludwig (GER), 2:28.70

GOLD – Lena Ludwig (GER), 2:27.48
SILVER – Paulina Baran (POL), 2:27.78
BRONZE – Kay-Lyn Lohr (SUI), 2:27.95

The women’s 200m breaststroke final was indeed a close one, with the top 3 finishers separated by less than half a second when all was said and done.

Lena Ludwig of Germany successfully defended her gold from 2024, capturing the title in a swift 2:27.48. That easily beat the 2:28.70 it took the teen to top the podium a year ago.

Poland’s Paulina Baran was next to the wall in 2:27.78 followed by Switzerland’s Kay-Lyn Lohr and her time of 2:27.95, giving her nation its first medal of the competition.

Ludwig’s performance was just a hair off her best-ever mark of 2:27.33 put up in May of this year while Baran’s 2:27.78 checks in as a humongous PB. It wiped out the 2:31.23 registered just this past April. She now becomes Poland’s #2 performer of all time, sitting only behind national record holder Wiktoria Bienkowska‘s time of 2:26.84 from 2009.

BOYS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• 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)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: John Shortt (IRL), 1:57.68

GOLD – Zsombor Racz (HUN), 1:57.89
SILVER – Daniele del Signore (ITA), 1:57.94
BRONZE – John Shortt (IRL), 1:58.45

Reigning European Junior champion John Shortt of Ireland led the boys’ 200m butterfly semi-finals but wasn’t able to deliver tonight in the medal-contending race.

Instead, it was Hungary’s 18-year-old Zsombor Racz who got it done for gold, turning in a time of 1:57.89 to beat the pack.

That performance eked out the win over Italy’s Daniele del Signore who settled for silver just .05 behind in 1:57.94.

Shortt indeed landed on the podium, downgraded to bronze in 1:58.45, off the 1:57.68 notched for gold last year as well as outside the 1:56.61 Irish national record he logged at April’s national championships.

Entering this competition, Racz’s personal best rested at the 2:00.04 hit in April, which he dropped down to 1:58.91 last night before finally landing on a stellar 1:57.89 to quiet the field.

GIRLS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• 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)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Estella Llum Tonrath Nollgen (ESP), 2:10.78

GOLD – Estella Nollgen (ESP), 2:10.02
SILVER – Nahia Garrido Malvar (ESP), 2:12.47
BRONZE – Aissia-Claudia Prisecariu (ROU), 2:13.10

The nation of Spain got a giant hardware boost with a 1-2 finish in this girls’ 200m backstroke final, led by reigning champion Estella Nollgen.

After nabbing times of 2:09.92 in the prelims followed by 2:10.68 in the semi-finals, Nollgen ultimately stopped the clock at 2:10.02 to grab the gold and beat her competitors by well over 2 seconds.

Touching in 2:12.47 was teammate Nahia Garrido Malvar for silver as Romanian Aissia-Claudia Prisecariu delivered 2:13.10 for bronze.

Nollgen’s time was comprised of splits of 30.39/32.09 (1:02.48)/33.04/34.50 to get the job done.

As a reminder, Nollgen is Spain’s national record holder in this event, owning a lifetime best of 2:08.03 from last month’s Spanish Championships.

BOYS 400 IM – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 4:10.02, Ilya Borodin (2021)
• European Junior Record: 4:10.02, Ilya Borodin (2021)
• European Record: 4:04.28, Leon Marchand (2022)
• Championship Record: 4:14.37, Robert-Andrei Badea (2024)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Robert-Andrei Badea (ROU), 4:14.37

GOLD – Robert-Andrei Badea (ROU), 4:18.22
SILVER – Cristobal Vargas Trujillo (ESP), 4:19.26
BRONZE – Onur Ege Eksuz (TUR), 4:19.92

After missing out on successfully defending his 200m IM earlier in the competition, 17-year-old Romanian Robert-Andrei Badea exacted his revenge with a gold in this 400m IM.

Badea topped the podium in a time of 4:18.22, well off his winning effort of 4:14.37 from last year, but enough to beat the pack by over a second.

Spain got on the board once again, with Cristobal Vargas Trujillo notching 4:19.26 for silver. Turkey also landed on the podium with Onur Ege Oksuz‘s outing of 4:19.92.

MIXED 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 3:44.84, United States (2019)
• European Junior Record: 3:47.99, Russia (2018)
• European Record: 3:37.58, Great Britain (2021)
• Championship Record: 3:47.99, Russia (2018)
• 2024 European Junior Champion: Italy, 4:04.48

GOLD – Great Britain, 3:47.07 *European Junior Record, Championship Record
SILVER – Italy, 3:50.30
BRONZE – Poland, 3:50.32

The nation of Great Britain finished tonight’s session on a high note, breaking the European Junior Record and Championships Record on its way to winning the mixed medley relay.

The combination of Blythe Kinsman, Filip Nowacki, Dean Fearn and Theodora Taylor collectively stopped the clock at a rapid result of 3:47.07, the sole time of the field under the 3:50 barrier.

Kinsman, the 50m backstroke champion already here, opened in a swift 1:00.64, a new personal best, before turning it over to newly-minted EJR holder Nowacki on breast.

Nowacki ripped a split of 59.25 to help Fearn into the water with a 52.44 outing on fly. Taylor sealed the deal with a speedy 54.74 free anchor to give GBR the gold.

Runner-up status went to Italy in 3:50.30 and Poland wrapped up bronze in 3:50.32.

Great Britain’s time tonight overtook the former benchmark of 3:47.99 Russia put on the books in 2018.

Interestingly, Spain, who has already done relay damage here, was not among tonight’s finalists.