2025 LEN U23 European Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2025 LEN U23 European Championships

• Thursday, June 26 – Saturday, June 28
• 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
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Livestream (Pay-To-Watch)
• Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2

The final night of racing at the 2025 LEN U23 European Championships in Šamorín, Slovakia, promises to be an exciting finish to an already electric meet.

12 championship finals are on tonight’s schedule: the women’s 200 breaststroke, men’s 100 backstroke, women’s 50 butterfly, men’s 100 freestyle, women’s 1500 freestyle, women’s 200 backstroke, men’s 100 breaststroke, women’s 100 freestyle, men’s 50 butterfly, men’s 200 individual medley, men’s 800 freestyle, and the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay.

Follow along below for real-time updates.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 2:17.55, Evgenia Chikunova (RUS) — 2023
• European Record: 2:17.55, Evgenia Chikunova (RUS) — 2023

Podium:

1. Clara Rybak-Andersen (DEN) – 2:23.89
2. Ellie McCartney (IRL) – 2:24.02
3. Kotryna Teterevkova (LTU) – 2:24.86

The women’s 200 breast was an exciting race from the start. Denmark’s Clara Rybak-Andersen set the early pace, turning first at the 50 with the only sub-33 split in the field (32.69). She maintained her lead at the halfway point, clocking 1:08.96, with Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova the only other swimmer under 1:10 at 1:09.92.

Ireland’s Ellie McCartney began to close the gap on the third 50, producing the only sub-37 split of the field. Despite her charge, Rybak-Andersen still led by more than a second going into the final lap. McCartney overtook Teterevkova for second, though, and continued to close, nearly reeling in the leader by the finish.

In the end, Rybak-Andersen held on to win in 2:23.89, just 0.13 ahead of McCartney’s 2:24.02.

Rybak-Andersen narrowly missed her personal best of 2:23.67 from the Danish Open in April. 20-year-old McCartney, who won bronze in the 100 breast yesterday, eclipsed her previous best of 2:24.55 from the Canet leg of the Mare Nostrum series last month. Teterevkova, the 23-year-old Lithuanian who touched 5th in the Olympic final last summer, settled for bronze in 2:24.58. Her personal best and national record in this event is 2:22.86.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 51.60, Thomas Ceccon (ITA) — 2022
• European Record: 51.60, Thomas Ceccon (ITA) — 2022

Podium:

1. Jack Skerry (GBR) – 53.35
2. Oleksandr Zheltiakov (UKR) – 53.93
3. Matthew Ward (GBR) – 54.29

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Record: 24.43, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 2014
• European Record: 24.43, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 2014

Podium:

1. Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL) – 25.63
2. Tamara Potocka (SVK) – 25.86
3. Daryna Nabojcenko (CZE) – 25.90

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 46.40, Pan Zhanle (CHN) — 2024
• European Record: 46.86, David Popovici (ROU) — 2022

Podium:

1. David Popovici (ROU) – 46.71 *European Record*
2. Jere Hribar (CRO) – 48.33
3. Toni Dragoja (CRO) – 48.67

Romanian David Popovici unleashed a scorching 46.71 to win the men’s 100 freestyle. This swim not only set a new European record but also stands as the fastest time in the world this year and the second-fastest swim of all time.

20-year-old Popovici, who previously held the world record with a best time of 46.86 from the 2022 World Championships, saw his record broken last summer at the Paris Olympics. There, he settled for bronze behind Pan Zhanle, who shattered the world record with a 46.40, and the ever-consistent Kyle Chalmers.

Another standout from tonight’s race was Popovici’s back-half speed of 23.98, making him the first man in history to close the final 50 in under 24. He previously held the two fastest back halves at 24.05 and 24.09 from the 2022 and 2024 European Championships, respectively. See the list of the fastest back-half splits below.

• Read more about Popovici’s swim here.

Beyond Popovici’s electric swim, Croatian teammates Jere Hribar (48.33) and Toni Dragoja (48.67) rounded out the podium. The 21-year-old Hribar, who trains under Rick Bishop at LSU, was just off his 48.18 personal best from prelims, while Dragoja, representing Alabama, notched a new lifetime best by a couple of tenths.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 15:20.48, Katie Ledecky (USA) — 2018
• European Record: 15:38.88, Lotte Friis (DEN) — 2013

Podium:

1. Artemis Vasilaki (GRE) – 16:22.20
2. Klaudia Tarasiewicz (POL) – 16:26.58
3. Marian Ploger (GER) – 16:32.40

Greece’s Artemis Vasilaki dominated the women’s 1500 freestyle final, pulling away early and never looking back en route to gold. She touched the wall with a final time of 16:22.20, shaving more than four seconds off her previous best of 16:26.49 from the Acropolis Swim Open earlier this year.

Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz also posted a significant personal best to claim silver, touching in 16:26.58, well under her prior mark of 16:44.12 from the PGE Grand Prix meet in May.

Marian Ploger of Germany, a freshman at the University of Michigan, rounded out the podium in 16:32.40. She was a ways  off her lifetime best of 16:23.69.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2023
• European Record: 2:04.94, Anastasia Fesikova (RUS) — 2009

Podium:

1. Honey Osrin (GBR) – 2:11.28
2. Adela Piskorska (POL) – 2:11.50
3. Bertille Cousson (FRA) – 2:11.56

Great Britain’s Honey Osrin came from behind to take the win in the women’s 200 back, clocking 2:11.28 after a strong back half. Osrin, who was 7th in the Olympic final last summer in Paris and owns a lifetime best of 2:07.84, was sitting 4th at the 50 and still 3rd at the halfway mark before making her move. A 33.50 third lap pushed her into the lead, and she held firm over the final stretch to grab gold.

Adela Piskorska of Poland, the 100 back champ from yesterday, took silver in 2:11.50. She was right in the mix from the start, 2nd through the first two 50s, slipped back to 3rd at 150, but closed in 33.17 to nearly nab gold. Her personal best stands at 2:09.40.

France’s Bertille Cousson got out to the early lead with a 30.33 opener and still led at the 100, but faded slightly on the last 100 to finish 3rd in 2:11.56. Her PB rests at 2:11.21, so she was about three tenths shy of that standard tonight.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 56.88, Adam Peaty (GBR) — 2019
• European Record: 56.88, Adam Peaty (GBR) — 2019

Podium:

1. Luka Mladenovic (AUT) – 59.97
2. Volodymyr Lisovets (UKR) – 1:00.36
3. Ivo Kroes (NED) – 1:00.62

Michigan commit Luka Mladenovic completed his breaststroke sweep with a sub-minute showing in the 100, clocking 59.97 to win by nearly half a second. The 20-year-old Austrian came within 0.03 of his personal best, notched last month at the AP Race Invitational in London.

While Mladenovic’s swim came up just shy of the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut of 59.75 needed to race the event at Worlds, he had already punched his ticket in both the 50 and 200 breast.

He’s been a force in the stroke ever since his breakout at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Lima, where he won the 100 breast, took silver in the 200, and bronze in the 50.

Behind him tonight was Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets, who snagged 2nd in 1:00.36 to go along with the silver he picked up in the 50 breast on night one. He also dipped under his previous best of 1:00.74.

Dutchman Ivo Kroes clocked 1:00.62 to earn bronze—his first time under the 1:01 mark and his first medal of the meet.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 2017
• European Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 2017

Podium:

1. Milou van Wijk (NED) – 53.66
2. Nina Holt (GER) – 54.01
3. Minna Abraham (HUN) – 54.36

The Netherlands’ Milou van Wijk was simply too quick to catch in the women’s 100 free final, dominating from start to finish. She got off to a strong start and led from the very first stroke, touching the wall in 53.66. She opened in 25.94 and closed in 27.72 to represent as the sole woman under 54 seconds.

Her personal best of 53.18, recorded at the Antwerp Diamond Meet in March, currently ranks her ninth in the world. Tonight’s victory completes van Wijk’s sprint free sweep, coming less than 24 hours after she logged a lifetime best of 24.23 to win the 50.

Silver and bronze went to Germany’s Nina Holt (54.01) and Hungary’s Minna Abraham.

Holt narrowly missed her career best of 53.81, set at the Gothaer & Friends meet in Germany this past April, while Abraham, who took gold in the 200 free earlier this week, was just off her 54.28 from the European Championships last summer.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Record: 22.27, Andrii Govorov (UKR) — 2018
• European Record: 22.27, Andrii Govorov (UKR) — 2018

Podium:

1. Diogo Ribeiro (POR) – 23.01
2. Vladyslav Bukhov (UKR) – 23.09
3. Denis-Laurean Popescu (ROU) – 23.43

Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro picked up his second gold medal of the meet in the men’s 50 fly, touching the wall in 23.01 to outtouch Ukrainian reigning 50 free champion Vladyslav Bukhov for the second night in a row. Ribeiro had already beaten Bukhov in his pet event last night, setting a new Portuguese record of 21.67.

Ribeiro, who swept both butterfly golds at the 2024 Doha World Championships, has a personal best of 22.82 in this distance. Bukhov’s time tonight of 23.09 was just five hundredths off his lifetime best in the discipline.

Denis-Laurean Popescu of Romania tied his own national record with a bronze-medal swim of 23.43. Earlier in the meet, he won the 100 fly with a new Romanian record of 51.47, after breaking it in the heats with 51.48, becoming the first Romanian man to ever break into the 51-second territory.

MEN’S 200 IM – FINAL

• World Record: 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) — 2011
• European Record: 1:54.06, Leon Marchand (FRA) — 2024

Podium:

1. Dominik Torok (HUN) – 2:00.00
2. Vadym Naumenko (UKR) – 2:00.51
3. Daniil Giourtzidis (GRE) – 2:00.56

After winning bronze in yesterday’s 400 IM final, Hungary’s Dominik Torok (2:00.00) stepped up to claim gold in the shorter 200m distance. The University of Wisconsin swimmer finished just over a second shy of his personal best 1:58.89, set at the European Championships last summer where he nabbed 4th.

Torok’s splits tonight included a strong 25.80 on the fly, which put him in the lead, followed by 31.77 on the backstroke that dropped him to 4th. He surged back with a quick 33.86 on breaststroke, closing the gap to within a tenth of the leader before sealing the win with a 28.57 freestyle leg, finishing half a second ahead of the field.

Ukraine’s Vadym Naumenko took silver with splits of 26.00, 30.65, 34.68, and 29.18, finishing in 2:00.51. He led the race after both the backstroke and breaststroke legs, but wasn’t able to hold off Torok during the closing meters. Naumenko’s overall time was over a second slower than his lifetime best of 1:59.33, which he set at the Europeans last July.

Daniil Giourtzidis, who was out of medal contention for most of the race, powered home with a 28.21 final leg. Moving up from 7th at both the 50 and 150 marks, the Greece swimmer claimed bronze in 2:00.56, about a second off his personal best of 1:59.71 from last July.

MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 7:32.12, Zhang Lin (CHN) — 2009
• European Record: 7:38.12, Sven Schwarz (GER) — 2025

Podium:

1. Sven Schwarz (GER) – 7:38.98
2. Petar Mitsin (BUL) – 7:53.32
3. Emile Vincent (FRA) – 7:53.88

To no one’s surprise, world leader Sven Schwarz cruised to a commanding victory in the men’s 800 free. He touched the wall in 7:38.98, giving a strong challenge to his own European record and current world-leading time of 7:38.12. Schwarz opened the race in 3:48.96 through the first 400 meters, about a second off his record pace of 3:47.80, but closed the second half a few tenths faster. Tonight’s win gave him double distance gold, after he claimed the 1500 title on Thursday in 14:38.96, just under two seconds shy of his personal best of 14:36.82.

The men’s 800 at the World Championships next month is shaping up to be one of the deepest events of the meet. Schwarz enters as a medal favorite alongside reigning Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen of Ireland, 2023 World Championships silver medalist and quickest active/non-suspended swimmer Sam Short (7:37.76), 2021 Olympic and 2022 World champion Bobby Finke, and several others.

Petar Mitsin grabbed his third medal of the meet with a 7:53.32 silver for Bulgaria, while Emile Vincent of France took bronze in 7:53.88. Mitsin’s personal best and national record stands at 7:47.45 from the 2023 European Junior Championships, while Vincent shattered his previous best of 7:58.75 with tonight’s swim.

MIXED 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:18.83, Australia (AUS) — 2023
• European Record: 3:21.68, Great Britain (GBR) — 2023

Podium:

1. Hungary – 3:27.13
2. Germany – 3:27.16
3. Great Britain – 3:27.93

The final event of the U23 European Championships, the mixed 4×100 free relay, was a nail-biter.

Hungary and Great Britain were neck and neck after the first 100, with Daniel Meszaros and Alexander Cohoon both logging identical 49.54 splits to share the lead.

Germany surged ahead of both teams during the second leg thanks to Martin Wrede’s swift 48.49 split.

Hungary’s Minna Abraham, who won bronze in the 100 free earlier in the session, delivering a 54.46 on the third leg to push her team back into 1st.

Germany’s Nina Holt, fresh off her 54.01 silver in the 100 free, pushed hard in the anchor leg, posting a huge 53.26 split. However, Hungary’s Nikolett Padar (53.98) was able to hold her off to secure the win by just 0.03.

Great Britain finished 3rd in 3:27.93, with Cameron Brooker‘s 48.98 2nd leg and Erin Little‘s 54.50 representing the biggest highlights.

Relay Splits For Medalists: