2025 European SC Championships: Day 1 Prelims Scratches – Top Seed Ceccon Out Of The 200 Back

2025 EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 2-7, 2025
• Lublin, Poland
• SCM (25 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Day 1 Prelims Heat Sheet

Event Schedule

• Women’s 400m freestyle
• Men’s 400m freestyle
• Women’s 100m breaststroke
• Men’s 100m breaststroke
• Women’s 5om butterfly
• Men’s 5om butterfly
• Women’s 200m backstroke
• Men’s 200m backstroke
• Women’s 4x50m freestyle relay
• Men’s 4x50m freestyle relay

Thomas Ceccon will be the biggest name missing from the start sheets this morning, as the Italian swimmer has dropped the 200 backstroke from his schedule. This is an event he has only started racing seriously in the last couple of years, making the Olympic semi-final last year before breaking the Italian Record at the Australian Open back in April.

He carried that form into the short course season, breaking Lorenzo Mora‘s Italian short course record by a second at the final World Cup stop, but will not challenge for the gold tonight. That leaves him with only a single individual entry remaining in the 100 back, although he is scheduled to swim the men’s 4×50 free relay at the end of this morning’s session.

The 200 back sees a couple of other names you might know missing out with Berke Sake, previously of Georgia Tech, and Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk both scratching. They were the #21 and #23 seed respectively.

Ceccon is not the only top ranked swimmer to delay their first individual swim of the meet. Ruta Meilutyte, the 2012 Olympic Champion and short course World Record holder in the 100 breast, scratches that event today. She was the #6 seed in 1:04.27, but has been 1:02.36 before and was one of the favourites to take the gold.

Barbara Seemanova is another swimmer missing, as she will not grace the heats of the women’s 400m free with her presence. She would have been a likely finalist as the #4 seed in 4:02.97.

Ceccon’s teammate Filippo Megli is also missing from the men’s 400 free start sheets this morning. A world bronze medalist in the short course 4×200 free relay last year, he was the #21 seed here. Both Croatian swimmers also scratch that event, along with Auburn and Israel’s Daniel Krichevsky.

The 2024 World champion in the long course 50 fly, Diogo Matos Ribeiro, scratches his #12 seed in the event this morning. He placed 4th at the 2025 World Championships in a new long course Portuguese record of 22.77, and recently popped a 23.00 in short course at the 11th Algarve International meet.

Slovakia and Turkey have scratched the men’s 4×50 free relay, while the women’s event will see all 16 teams entered take part.

All Scratches

• W 400 Free
  • #4 Barbara Seemanova (CZE) – 4:02.97
• M 400 Free
  • #21 Filippo Megli (ITA) – 3:43.61
  • #26 Niko Jankovic (CRO) – 3:44.67
  • #46 Marin Mogic (CRO) – 3:51.25
  • #55 Daniel Krichevsky (ISR) – 3:53.58
• W 50 Fly 
  • #19 Barbara Janickova (CZE) – 25.87
• M 50 Fly
  • #12 Diogo Matos Ribeiro (POR) – 22.69
  • #35 Elias Refstie (NOR) – 23.68
  • #44 Konsta Rantasuo (FIN) – 24.45
• W 100 Breast
  • #6 Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) – 1:04.27
  • #21 Meri Mataja (CRO) – 1:06.42
• M 50 Breast
  • #34 Gian-Luca Gartmann (SUI) – 58.79
• W 200 Back
  • #18 Lisa Pou (MON) – 2:13.88
• M 200 Back
  • #1 Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 1:47.49
  • #21 Berke Saka (TUR) – 1:53.89
  • #23 Ksawery Masiuk (POL) – 1:55.02