arena Swim of the Week: Lillian Slusna Breaks Slovakian 50 Free Record For Third Time In 24.67

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Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.

Lillian Slusna is slowly but surely establishing herself as one of Europe’s top up-and-coming freestyle sprinters, and this year, she’s taken a big step towards senior international medal contention in the 50 free.

In April 2025, Slusna, 19 at the time, dropped nearly three-tenths off her personal best time in 25.08, breaking the 23-year-old Slovakian Record of 25.09 set by the legendary Martina Moravcova in 2002.

Moravcova, a two-time Olympic silver medalist and 22-time World Championship medalist (LC and SC combined), is a legendary figure in the country, having been named Slovakia’s Sportsperson of the Year six times, more than any other athlete.

Slusna matched her national record in the 50 free two months later at the 2025 Slovakian Open and Junior Championships in 25.08, and then she gained some crucial international experience throughout the rest of the year, placing 24th in the 50 free (25.22) and 30th in the 100 free (55.48) at the 2025 World Championships.

She also represented Slovakia at the 2025 European SC Championships in December, placing 22nd in the 50 free and 23rd in the 50 fly. She set new national records of 24.08 in the 50 free and 25.62 later in December at the Slovakian SC Championships.

The now 20-year-old been on fire throughout the first half of 2026, becoming the first Slovakian woman under the 25-second barrier in the 50 free this past April at the Graz Trophy in Austria, clocking 24.87 to knock more than two-tenths off her previous national record.

That led to her swim last weekend at the Slovakian Grand Prix in Samorin, where Slusna showed she was on good form with a near record-breaking swim of 24.92 in the prelims, and then in the final, she let it rip, blasting her way to a time of 24.67.

Not only did that swim chop two more tenths off the national record, putting more than four-tenths under Moravcova’s previous mark that stood for more than two decades, but it also landed her in the top 25 in the seasonal world rankings.

At the same meet, Slusna also set a best time of 54.59 in the 100 free, putting her within 14 one-hundredths of Moravcova’s longstanding national record of 54.45 from 2000, and she added a season-best of 26.25 in the 50 fly, a quarter of a second off her lifetime best of 26.00.

Slusna notably committed to SMU last year, scheduled to join in the fall of 2025, but never ended up heading to Dallas.

The 10th-fastest European woman in the 50 free this season, Slusna’s focus will shift to the upcoming European Aquatics Championships in France, where she’s a major threat to final in the 50 free and continue to ride her wave of momentum.

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