2026 DANISH OPEN
- Thursday, April 16th – Sunday, April 19th
- Bellahøj Swimming Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
- LCM (50m)
- European Championships & European Junior Championships Qualification Event
- Meet Central
- Entries/Live Results
- Livestream
The 2026 Danish Open kicked off today, and Danish European Junior champion Martine Damborg got off to a strong start with a win in the women’s 50 butterfly.
She swam 26.12 in the race, touching four tenths ahead of Finland’s Aliisa Soini, who earned the silver medal in 26.59. Damborg was a little off her lifetime best of 25.80 that she swam to finish 3rd at the 2025 World Junior Championships in August.
Behind Soini, there was a tie for 3rd in the event between two Danish swimmers, Helena Rosendahl Bach and Julie Kepp Jensen, who both touched in 26.68.
The women’s 50 fly was the final event of the session. The evening kicked off with the women’s 100 backstroke.
Denmark’s Schastine Tabor swam the top time of 1:00.95, adding about seven hundredths from her prelims time and touching about half-a-second ahead of Austria’s Iris Julia Berger, who swam 1:01.58 and Denmark’s Emma Brogaard, who swam 1:01.63 for the bronze.
In the men’s 100 fly, Casper Puggaard swam the top time of 52.37, winning the event by more than a second over fellow Danish swimmer Rasmus Nickelsen, who swam 53.33. Thomas Hogenhaug, also from Denmark, won the bronze medal in 53.66.
Puggaard is fresh off the NCAA Division I Championships where he swam for the Cal Bears.
In the women’s 400 freestyle, Finland’s Malla Hamalaine swam 4:19.82 to take the gold medal over Denmark’s Mia Borgensgaard‘s 4:21.70 in 2nd place. Denmark’s Michelle Mortensen swam 4:24.10 for the bronze.
In the men’s 800 freestyle final, Denmark’s Frederik Lindholm swam 8:08.73 to win the event by just three tenths over Liggjas Joensen’s 8:09.08 in silver.
Lindholm had a stronger opening, turning in 4:02.52 at the 400 mark about two seconds ahead of the 4:04.69 Joensen split. From there, Joensen had a very strong closing 400, nearly catching Lindholm at the back half, falling just short.
Mathias Hald from Denmark won the bronze in 8:14.34.
The men’s 200 breaststroke saw Denmark’s Sebastian Eliasen take the top time in 2:15.16, four tenths ahead of Axel Gusmer’s 2:15.59 in 2nd place overall. Tobias Rosengaard won the bronze in 2:16.21.
The women’s 100 breaststroke saw Clara Rybak-Andersen swim 1:08.91, about a second-and-a-half off the 1:07.31 she swam to win the event at this meet last year.
Martina Barbeito finished 2nd in 1:10.03, just three tenths ahead of Anja Englert‘s 1:10.35 for the bronze.
The men’s 200 backstroke saw three Danish men in the top three. Christian L.H. Frederiksen earn the gold medal in 2:05.34, three tenths ahead of Hans Bjorn Legind’s 2:05.62 and seven tenths ahead of Oliver Niemann Ogstrup‘s 2:06.00.
Christiane Dreyer Riis, from Denmark, won the women’s 200 IM in 2:17.77, touching seven tenths ahead of Karoline Kjelstrup, also from Denmark, who earned the silver medal in 2:18.49. They were the only swimmers under 2:20 in the event with Sweden’s Tes Winblad taking the bronze in 2:20.78.g
In the men’s 50 free, Denmark’s Robert Falborg swam 22.34 to take the top spot, just over two tenths ahead of Frederik Riedel Lentz‘s 22.59 in silver. Spain’s Guido Buscaglia Aiello stopped the clock in 22.62 for the bronze medal.
