Gastaldello Takes Over World Rankings In 50 Back At 2025 Euro Meet

2025 LUXEMBOURG EURO MEET

• Friday, January 31st – Sunday, February 2nd
• Centre National Sportif et Culturel d’Coque, Luxembourg
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap
• Live Results

The 25th edition of the CMCM Luxembourg Euro Meet continued last night with 29-year-old Beryl Gastaldello of France wracking up another pair of golds to add to her haul.

After topping the women’s 100m back and 50m fly podiums on day one, Gastaldello got the job done in the 50m back and 50m free to keep her momentum going.

In the 50m back, Gastaldello stopped the clock at 27.93 to beat the field by over a second. The next-closest competitor was Great Britain’s Sophie Knocker who touched in 28.94 followed by fellow French swimmer Bertille Cousson who hit 29.12.

As for Gastaldello, her time of 27.93 checked in as the 3rd-swiftest time of her career, one which boasts a lifetime best of 27.86 from the 2018 European Championships. She now ranks #1 in the world early in this 2024/25 season.

The 50m free saw Gastaldello produce a gold medal-worthy result of 25.07 to get to the wall first.

17-year-old Skye Carter of Great Britain logged 25.37 to snag silver and Danish swimmer Julie Kepp Jensen rounded out the podium in 25.46.

Gastaldello’s effort rendered her ranked 4th in the world this season.

Kara Hanlon of Great Britain touched first in the women’s 50m breast, registering a time of 30.90. That was within striking distance of her Scottish national record of 30.50 put up at the 2023 British Championships.

Canadian Shona Branton turned in a time of 31.01 as the runner-up followed by Italy’s Arianna Castiglioni who got on the board in 31.30 for bronze.

German ace Melvin Imoudu was the men’s 50m breast victor, hitting a time of 27.31 to beat a pair of Italians.

Simone Cerasuolo logged an effort of 27.56 behind Imoudu while reigning 100m breast Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi posted 27.59 to kick off his 2025 season of racing.

2024 world champion in the 50m free, Vladyslav Bukhov of Ukraine, got the job done in his pet event. Bukhov logged 21.97 as the sole competitor under the 22-second threshold.

Leonardo Deplano of Italy claimed silver in 22.13 and Sean Niewold of the Netherlands also landed on the podium a hair behind in 22.16 for bronze.

Bukhov now ranks 3rd in the world thus far.

France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard doubled up on his 100m back victory on night one with a gold in the 50m back.

Ndoye-Brouard ranks #2 in the world now, courtesy of the 24.96 he produced here in Luxembourg. Germany’s Fritz Dietz was over a second behind in 26.09 and France’s Romeo Sauvageot rounded out the top 3 performers in 26.23.

Additional Notes

• Sofia Morini of Italy touched in 1:59.25 in the women’s 200m free, producing the sole outing of the field under the 2:00 barrier.
• Danish Olympian Helena Rosendahl-Bach earned another gold, pairing day one’s 200m fly victory with a 100m fly top performance here. The 24-year-old reached the wall in 58.50 to win by over a second.
• The men’s 200m free saw Ukraine’s Illia Linnyk score a time of 1:49.55 to reap gold in the sole sub-1:50 outing of the pack.
• Clara Rybak-Andersen of Denmark was too quick to catch in the women’s 200m breast, posting 2:25.54 to come just over a second outside her lifetime best of 2:24.47 from April 2024.
• Luca Armbruster of Germany was the top men’s 100m fly performer, turning in a time of 52.05, ranking 4th in the world as a result.