2026 ACROPOLIS SWIM OPEN
- Friday, May 8th – Sunday, May 10th
- Athens, Greece
- LCM (50m)
- Day 1 Recap
- Live Results
Day two of the 2026 Acropolis Swim Open unfolded yesterday from Athens with the nation’s swimmers vying for slots on the European Championships roster, as well as on the 2027 World Championships lineup.
Olympic medalist Apostolos Christou made his presence known in the men’s 50m backstroke, rocking a new meet record of 24.46 to dominate the field.
The 29-year-old veteran posted the sole time of the final under the 25-second barrier, as Turkish swimmer Ali Satir reaped silver in 25.03, followed by Eyangelos Makrygiannis who bagged the bronze in 25.13.
As for Christou, his 24.46 time checked in as the 4th-fastest of his career, one which boasts a lifetime best and national record of 24.36 notched en route to becoming the 2022 European Championships gold medalist.
He now ranks 6th in the world on the season.
2025-2026 LCM Men 50 BACK
Kolesnikov
23.86
| 2 | Xu Jiayu | CHN | 23.92 | 06/17 |
| 3 | Pavel Samusenko | RUS | 24.12 | 06/07 |
| 4 | Oliver MORGAN | GBR | 24.36 | 04/18 |
| 5 | Georgy Yakovlev | RUS | 24.38 | 04/20 |
| 5 | Michele LAMBERTI | ITA | 24.38 | 04/14 |
| 7 | Miroslav Knedla | CZE | 24.43 | 05/24 |
| 7 | Miron Lifintsev | RUS | 24.43 | 06/07 |
| 9 | Quintin McCarty | USA | 24.45 | 06/18 |
| 10 | Isaac COOPER | AUS | 24.46 | 06/08 |
After the race, Christou told the Greek Swimming Federation, “It has already been shown that I am better than I was last year at the World Championships in Singapore, where I was still in a transitional stage after the Paris Olympics.
“I wanted the national record in the 50m and it didn’t happen because I didn’t have the strength to finish. Of course, I got down to 24.50 and I am very happy that this happened.”
Asked which events he will focus on, he pointed out, “The 100m backstroke, which is my traditional one, and I want a good race tomorrow and of course I will work on the 50m as well.”
The top two women’s 100m butterfly performers also qualified for the European Championships as well as next year’s World Championships.
National record holder Anna Ntountounaki was the top performer, reaping gold in 58.02.
That narrowly defeated teammate Georgia Damasioti, who clocked 58.06, with French swimmer Lili-Rose Berthelot capturing bronze in 59.74.
The men’s 50m breast saw a trio of Turkish athletes monopolize the podium, led by Olympian Emre Sakci.
Sakci, now 28 years of age, produced a new meet record of 27.12 to get to the wall over half a second ahead of the pack.
Omer Ogretir Berkay was the next to touch in 27.68 while Nusrat Allahverdi also landed on the podium in 28.08, good enough for bronze.
Sakci sneaks into the season’s world rankings in slot #22.
Additional Notes
- Visiting German ace Nicole Maier followed up on her 100m free victory by nabbing gold in the 200m free event. Maier registered 1:59.37 as the sole performer under the 2:00 barrier. France’s Maeline Bessard snagged the silver in 2:00.57 while Ecem Donmez of Turkey rounded out the podium in 2:02.33.
- Dimitrios Markos led a trio of domestic swimmers to the podium in the men’s edition of the 200m free. 24-year-old Markos stopped the clock at 1:47.75, splitting 25.08/27.91 (52.99)/27.15/27.61 in the process. His lifetime best remains at the 1:46.28 established in the prelims at last year’s World Championships. There in Singapore, Markos ultimately placed 15th overall in a slower mark of 1:47.01. Last night, Konstantinos Englezakis was the silver medalist in 1:49.94 and Iason Routoulas nabbed bronze in 1:50.33.
- Following up on his 200m back national record, Apostolos Siskos tried the 100m fly on for size. The 20-year-old notched a winning effort of 52.68 to eke out the victory ahead of Konstantinos Stamou, who settled for silver just .05 behind in 52.73. Angel Exposito of France scored 53.06 to take the bronze medal.
