2025 EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- December 2-7, 2025
- Lublin, Poland
- SCM (25 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Recaps:
Event Schedule
- Women’s 400 IM
- Men’s 400 IM
- Women’s 4×50 Medley Relay
- Men’s 4×50 Medley Relay
We are onto the final day of racing at the European Short Course Championships, with the shortest of the prelims sessions this morning. There will be just four events contested, two individual and two relays.
We kick things off with the women’s 400 IM, where Irishwomen Ellen Walshe is the top seed by nearly ten seconds, the only woman entered under 4:30. She has already set an Irish record in the 100 IM and took silver in the 200 IM here in Lublin, and is the heavy favorite after taking her Irish record down by four seconds already to 4:22.97 this fall.
Katie Shanahan will be one to watch after taking silver in the 200 back and placing 4th in the 200 IM last night. She is entered as the #7 seed in 4:36.41 but was 4:30.34 at this meet two years ago, where she was pushed out of the final due to the ‘2 per nation’ rule.
Alberto Razzetti is the top seed for the men in 3:58.83, less than two seconds off his Championship record of 3:57.01. He swam that time to win the event at the last edition of these championships, and although silver medalist Duncan Scott does not return Razzetti will be joined by bronze medalist Apostolos Papastamos, who is the #3 seed.
We then move onto the 4×50 medley relays. Italy and the Netherlands have been the class of the field on the relays so far and will be looking to progress through safely. Hosts Poland have finished no lower than 4th in any of the four relays so far, and should be shoe-ins for both finals as well.
WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS
- WR: 4:15.48 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
- WJR: 4:15.48 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
- ER: 4:18.94– Mireia Belmonte, ESP (2017)
- EJR: 4:31.06 – Record Mark
- CR: 4:19.46 – Mireia Belmonte, ESP (2015)
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Alba Vazquez Ruiz (ESP) – 4:32.56 Q
- Emma Carrasco Cadens (ESP) – 4:34.18 Q
- Paula Gonzalez Miralles (ESP) – 4:34.34
- Ellen Walshe (IRL) – 4:34.60 Q
- Justina Kozan (POL) – 4:34.68 Q
- Noelle Benkler (GER) – 4:35.31 Q
- Eszter Szabo-Feltothy (HUN) – 4:36.64 Q
- Clara Rybak-Andersen (DEN) – 4:36.81 Q
- Katja Fain (SLO)- 4:40.45 Q
It was a Spanish 1-2-3 in the women’s 400 IM prelims, resulting in Paula Gonzalez Miralles missing out on the semi-finals by just 0.16 seconds. She had the fastest first 200 of all three Spanish women but was the only one not to split under 1:20 on the breaststroke.
It was a relatively reserved prelims for the other big names, with top seed Ellen Walshe more than ten seconds slower than her entry time as she moved through in 4th overall, and the 3rd seed for the final tomorrow. Justina Kozan nearly caught her right at the end of the race in heat 2, closing fastest of anyone in 1:01.36.
Germany’s European Junior silver medalist Noelle Benkler is stepping up seamlessly to the senior ranks and finished 5th overall. Katie Shanahan of Great Britain was a no show in the second heat, removing one medal favorite from the field for tonight.
MEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS
- WR: 3:54.81 – Daiya Seto, JPN (2019)
- WJR: 3:56.47 – Ilia Borodin, RSF (2021)
- ER: 3:56.47 – Ilia Borodin, RSF (2021)
- EJR: 3:56.47 – Ilia Borodin, RSF (2021)
- CR: 3:57.01 – Alberto Razzetti, ITA (2023)
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Jakub Bursa (CZE) – 4:04.68 Q
- Lucas Henveaux (BEL) – 4:05.04 Q
- Diego Mira Albaladejo (ESP) – 4:05.25 Q
- Alberto Razzetti (ITA) – 4:05.29 Q
- Max Litchfield (GBR) – 4:05.47 Q
- Cedric Bussing (GER) – 4:05.91 Q
- Zalan Sarkany (HUN) – 4:06.98 Q
- Thomas Jansen (NED) – 4:07.73 Q
The top two qualifiers this morning both set huge national records to claim the centre lanes for tonight’s final. Jakub Bursa stormed home in 57.07 in the first of the circle-seeded heats to touch in 4:04.68, undercutting his own mark of 4:07.27, while Lucas Henveaux closed even faster in 55.89 to hack 3.52 seconds off his weeks-old record in 4:05.04.
Diego Mira Alba;adejo continued Spain’s fantastic meet with their 1tth finalist, and was less than half a second off his national record. Top seed Alberto Razzetti cruised to the win in the final heat to move through 4th, with second-fastest entrant Max Litchfield was 5th.
Zalan Sarkany qualified 6th out of an unseeded heat, hacking more than eight seconds from his best. He has had a phenomenal meet so far, setting big Hungarian records to medal in both the 800 and 1500 free.
Defending bronze medalist and Greek Record holder Apostolos Papastomos was a no-show in the final heat. The only returning medalist in tonight’s final will be defending champion Alberto Razzetti, who will have just 46 minutes between the 200 fly final and this one tonight.
WOMEN’S 4×50 MEDLEY– PRELIMS
- WR: 1:42.35 – Australia (2021)
- ER: 1:42.38 – Sweden (2021)
- EJR: 1:49.62 – Russian Federation (2021)
- CR: 1:42.69 – Netherlands (2009)
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Netherlands – 1:44.75
- Germany – 1:45.15
- Sweden – 1:45.16
- Hungary – 1:45.61
- Great Britain – 1:46.06
- Poland – 1:46.28
- Italy – 1:46.45
- Norway – 1:46.84
Germany and Sweden were locked in a battle in the first heat, separated by no more than 0.16 seconds at any point of the race. Germany ended up getting the win in 1:45.15, a single hundredth ahead of the Swedes in 1:45.16. Angelina Koehler (24.92) and Sara Junevik (24.99) were the only fly legs in the field to break 25 seconds.
Marrit Steenbergen blasted the Netherlands out to a lead of over a second after the backstroke leg, lowering Sanja Jovanovic’s super-suited Championship Record and coming within 0.04 seconds of Kira Toussaint’s Dutch Record. Steenbergen has had a phenomenal meet, breaking four European Records – two formerly held by Katinka Hosszu and two held by Sarah Sjoestrom.
The Netherlands stayed out in front to win the final heat by over a second, touching in 1:44.75 to claim lane 4 for tonight. Great Britain were second in heat 2 and moved through in 5th, just 0.36 seconds off their national record.
MEN’S 4×50 MEDLEY – PRELIMS
- WR: 1:29.72– Italy (2024)
- ER: 1:29.72– Italy (2024)
- EJR: 1:37.23 – Poland (2021)
- CR: 1:30.14 – Italy (2021)
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Germany – 1:32.48
- Czechia – 1:32.53
- Italy – 1:32.64
- Switzerland – 1:32.71
- Austria – 1:32.74
- France – 1:32.85
- Denmark – 1:32.86
- Spain – 1:33.18
There were national records galore through the three heats of the men’s 4×50 medley relay, with seven of the 19 teams swimming cracking their national standards.
Austria and Switzerland both raced to a national record out of heat 1 and qualified in 4th and 5th. They were highlighted by Noe Ponti’s 21.43 split for the Swiss, one of the fastest in history, and Heiko Gigler’s 20.34 anchor for Austria. That is the fastest freestyle split of the meet so far.
France made it through in sixth with an anchor from Yohann Ndoye Brouard, while Spain were the only team to emerge from a slow final heat, cracking their super-suited national record by 0.07 seconds. Poland and Great Britain were two unlucky casualties, with 8th through 13th separated by just 0.52 seconds.
Germany and Czechia will be in the middle lanes, althoughItaly look dangerous with Thomas Ceccon, SImone Cerasuolo, and Leonardo Deplano potential additions.
NR for Ollie Morgan.