2026 Mare Nostrum – Barcelona: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2026 Mare Nostrum Tour – Barcelona

• May 30-31, 2026
• Barcelona, Spain — Club Natació Sant Andreu
• LCM (50 meters)
• Mare Nostrum Tour Central
• Results
• Livestream
• Psych Sheets
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap

Welcome to the final session of the final stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour!

Tonight’s session encompasses the women’s 1500m freestyle, men’s 50m backstroke, women’s 50m breaststroke, men’s 50m butterfly, women’s 400m IM, men’s 100m freestyle, women’s 100m backstroke, men’s 100m breaststroke, women’s 50m freestyle, men’s 200m backstroke, women’s 200m breaststroke, men’s 200m butterfly, women’s 100m butterfly, men’s 200m IM, women’s 200m freestyle, and men’s 400m freestyle.

Refresh this post to stay updated on the latest results as they unfold throughout this evening’s session.

WOMEN’S 1500M FREESTYLE – TIMED FINAL (Fastest Heat)

• Mare Nostrum Record: 15:51.68 – Delfina Pignatiello, Argentina (2019)
• Barcelona Record: 15:51.68 – Delfina Pignatiello, Argentina (2019)

GOLD – Simona Quadarella (Italy), 15:58.41
SILVER – Hanne Stamnesfet Naess (Norway), 16:34.26
BRONZE – Diana Gabriela Stiger (Romania), 163620

Italian Simona Quadarella was unstoppable in the final of the women’s 1500m freestyle.

Quadarella, the #2 performer all time, remains ranked fifth in the world courtesy of her 15:55.89 from last month’s Italian Championships.

MEN’S 50M BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 24.23 – Pavel Samusenko, Russia (2026)
• Barcelona Record: 24.64 – Michael Andrew, USA (2022)

GOLD – Miron Lifintsev (Russia), 24.59
SILVER – Quintin McCarty (USA), 24.84
BRONZE – Miroslav Knedla (CZE), 24.91

Russia’s Miron Lifintsev made it a sweep of the sprint backstrokes here in Barcelona, and he did so in meet record fashion.

Lifintsev put his hand on the wall in 24.59 to take down Michael Andrew‘s 2022 record of 24.64, securing the win ahead of Team USA’s Quintin McCarty (24.84) and Czechia’s Miroslav Knedla (24.91), making it three under the 25-second mark.

Lifintsev, better known for his 100m back where he sits as the second-ranked performer in that event’s history, was just 0.19 outside his lifetime best of 24.40 from the Russian Championships in April 2025.

His time tonight is good for 15th in the world so far this season, and he still has Russian Trials ahead in a few weeks to inch that ranking upward.

WOMEN’S 50M BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 29.64 – McKenzie Siroky, United States (2026)
• Barcelona Record: 29.89 – Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2024)

GOLD – McKenzie Siroky (USA), 30.40
SILVER – Florine Gaspard (Belgium) & Anastasia Gorbenko (Israel), 30.80
BRONZE – N/A

Just as Lifintsev did in the men’s 50m back, Team USA’s McKenzie Siroky did in the women’s 50m breast, completing a sweep of the sprint events in their respective strokes.

Siroky sprinted to a winning time of 30.40, earning the win by exactly four tenths over Belgium’s Florine Gaspard and Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko, who posted matching 30.80s to share the silver medal.

MEN’S 50M BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 22.53 – Andrii Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• Barcelona Record: 23.03 – Nicholas Santos, Brazil (2022)

GOLD – Ilya Kharun (USA*), 22.99
SILVER – Oleg Kostin (Russia), 23.12
BRONZE – Nicholas Santos (Brazil), 23.31

Kharun remains the world leader in this race, courtesy of the 22.64 he blasted at the Monaco leg of the series.

WOMEN’S 400M IM – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 4:30.75 – Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2016)
• Barcelona Record: 4:30.75 – Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2016)

GOLD – Agostina Hein (Argentina), 4:35.62
SILVER – Ella Jansen (Canada), 4:40.40
BRONZE –Julie Brousseau (Canada), 4:46.92

As expected, the World Junior Champion dominated the final of the women’s 400m IM.

MEN’S 100M FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 47.88 – Patrick Sammon, USA (2026)
• Barcelona Record: 47.88 – Patrick Sammon, USA (2026)

GOLD – Patrick Sammon (USA), 48.19
SILVER – Quintin McCarty (USA), 48.99
BRONZE – Duncan Scott (Great Britain), 49.11

After winning the men’s 200m free 24 hours ago, Team USA’s Patrick Sammon doubled up on golds in the men’s 100m free.

Sammon dominated tonight’s final, splitting 23.10/25.09 for a wire-to-wire win over American teammate Quintin McCarty (48.99) and Team GB’s Duncan Scott (49.11).

Sammon set a new Mare Nostrum Record this morning in 47.88, a time that ranks him 13th in the world so far this season.

As for McCarty, he came within four hundredths of his lifetime best of 48.95 from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

WOMEN’s 100M BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 58.57 – Kylie Masse, Canada (2022)
• Barcelona Record: 58.77 – Kathleen Baker, USA (2018)

GOLD – Taylor Ruck (Canada), 58.71
SILVER – Leah Shackley (USA), 59.29
BRONZE – Ingrid Wilm (Canada), 59.63

American Leah Shackley was out quickest through the first 50m in the women’s 100m backstroke, splitting 28.71 to Canadian Taylor Ruck‘s 28.76, but Ruck had another gear over the back half.

Ruck blasted home in the only sub-30 closing split of the evening, 29.95, to grab the win in 58.71 and break Kathleen Baker‘s longstanding meet record of 58.77 in the process.

Shackley held on for silver in 59.29, while Canada’s Ingrid Wilm edged out the Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen for bronze, 59.63 to 59.79.

As for Ruck, her time undercut her season-best 59.07 from the Canadian Open last month and moves her from 6th to tied for 5th in the world rankings.

This is Ruck’s fastest time in the 100m back since she registered her current career best of 58.55 at the 2019 Canadian Trials.

MEN’S 100M BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 58.15 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)
• Barcelona Record: 58.15 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)

GOLD – Caspar Corbeau (Netherlands), 59.96
SILVER – Ilya Shymanovich (Belarus), 1:00.71
BRONZE – Michael Houlie (South Africa), 1:01.08

South Africa’s Michael Houlie scorched an opening split of 27.14 to lead the men’s 100m breast final by seven tenths at the halfway point, but ultimately ended up with bronze when all was said and done.

The Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau, last night’s 200m breast winner, was the strongest over the closing 50 to win with the only sub-minute time of 59.96, getting to the wall six one-hundredths ahead of Russia’s Kirill Prigoda, who was second in 1:00.02, with Belarus’ Ilya Shymanovich third in 1:00.71 and Houlie fourth in 1:01.08.

However, Prigoda was ultimately disqualified, meaning Shymanovich was upgraded to silver and Houlie to bronze.

WOMEN’S 50M FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 23.82 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• Barcelona Record: 23.96 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)

GOLD – Milou Van Wijk (Netherlands), 24.33
SILVER – Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong), 24.45
BRONZE – Taylor Ruck (Canada), 24.67

The Netherlands’ Milou Van Wijk picked up her first win of the 2026 Mare Nostrum Series in tonight’s 50m free final.

Van Wijk stopped the clock in 24.33 to edge out Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey (24.45) and Canada’s Taylor Ruck (24.67) for the gold medal.

Van Wijk’s time tonight is just a tenth shy of her career-best 24.23 from last July’s European U23 Championships. She  now ranks #7 in the world so far this season, bumping Haughey to 8th. Haughey clocked her season-best 24.34 at last month’s the Malstem Swim Open.

Ruck just missed her 24.59 season-best from the Sacramento Pro Swim Series earlier in the month.

We will see Haughey line up behind the blocks once again in about 30 minutes’ time for the final of the 200m free, where she set a new Mare Nostrum Record just a few days ago in Canet.

MEN’S 200M BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 1:54.34 – Ryosuke Irie, Japan (2007)
• Barcelona Record: 1:54.62 – Ryosuke Irie, Japan (2011)

GOLD – Jan Cejka (Czechia), 1:56.65
SILVER – Matteo Venini (Italy), 1:59.63
BRONZE – Dylan Buonaguro (Italy), 2:00.11

Czechia’s Jan Cejka was untouchable in the final of the men’s 200m backstroke.

Cejka led the race from the very first stroke and never relinquished it, ultimately winning by nearly three seconds with a time of 1:56.65. Italians Matteo Venini (1:59.63) and Dylan Buonaguro (2:00.11) rounded out the podium.

Cejka was about a half second outside his season-best 1:56.26 from the Canet leg of the series, a time that ranks him 12th in the world so far this season.

WOMEN’S 200M BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 2:19.67 – Rikke Moeller Pedersen, Denmark (2014)
• Barcelona Record: 2:19.83 – Yulia Efimova, Russia (2017)

GOLD – Evgeniia Chikunova (Russia), 2:23.74
SILVER – Alina Zmushka (Belarus), 2:24.58
BRONZE – Tes Schouten (Netherlands), 2:24.90

MEN’S 200M BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 1:53.89 – Kristof Milak, Hungary (2022)
• Barcelona Record: 1:53.89 – Kristof Milak, Hungary (2022)

GOLD – Ilya Kharun (USA*), 1:56.18
SILVER – Alberto Razzetti (Italy), 1:56.48
BRONZE – Richard Marton (Hungary), 1:57.26

WOMEN’S 100M BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 55.76 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• Barcelona Record: 56.27 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)

GOLD – Roos Vanotterdijk (Belgium), 57.73
SILVER – Taylor Ruck (Canada), 58.24
BRONZE – Anita Gastaldi (Italy), 58.67

Taylor Ruck, in her third final of the session, grabbed an early lead in the women’s 100m fly final, appearing to hit the 50m turn in around 26-mid (there was a clock malfunction), which was about three quarters of a second ahead of Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk, who turned in 27.36.

It was all the reigning world championship silver medalist over the final 50m though, as Vanotterdijk worked her way ahead of Ruck with a 30.35 closing split to grab the win, 57.73 to 58.24.

Italy’s Anita Gastaldi rounded out the podium with a time of 58.67.

Vanotterdijk remains ranked fifth in the world, courtesy of her 56.74 from the Belgium Open earlier in the month.

Ruck currently sits 20th with her 57.93 PB from Canet.

MEN’S 200M IM – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 1:56.31 – Hugo Gonzalez, Spain (2021)
• Barcelona Record: 1:56.31 – Hugo Gonzalez, Spain (2021)

GOLD – Alberto Razzetti (Italy), 1:59.75
SILVER – Gabor Zombori (Hungary), 2:00.25
BRONZE – Jacopo Barbotti (Italy), 2:00.69

WOMEN’S 200M FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 1:54.13 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong (2026)
• Barcelona Record: 1:54.57 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong (2024)

GOLD – Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong), 1:55.22
SILVER – Erika Fairweather (New Zealand), 1:55.49
BRONZE – Barbora Seemanova (Czechia), 1:56.64

Siobhan Haughey won the women’s 200m free, holding off a hard-charging Erika Fairweather over the final 50m, 1:55.22 to 1:55.49, with Barbora Seemanova taking a clear third in 1:56.64.

All three were a bit outside their season bests, all of which rank in the top 12 globally:

Of note, the on-fire Marrit Steenbergen finished fourth in a time of 1:57.72.

MEN’S 400M FREESTYLE – FINAL

• Mare Nostrum Record: 3:41.71 – Ian Thorpe, Australia (2001)
• Barcelona Record: 3:44.81 – Kim Woomin, South Korea (2024)

GOLD – Marco De Tullio (Italy), 3:48.29
SILVER – Victor Johansson (Sweden), 3:49.51
BRONZE – Alessandro Ragaini (Italy), 3:50.55