European Aquatics has announced that Munich will host the 2026 European Junior Championships. The governing body also announced that junior Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete under their nation’s flags at the meet.
Munich
Last week, European Aquatics stated Munich would be this year’s host. Germany was finalized as the year’s host nation at an EA Congress meeting in September, but the specific city was not known until the announcement.
Swimmers and artistic swimmers will compete in the 1972 Olympic Hall, the site where Mark Spitz won seven gold medals. Though the pool is famed and Germany is one of the biggest swimming powers on the continent, this will mark the first time the nation has ever hosted a European Junior Championships. The championships date back to 1967, and it has been held on an annual basis since 1982.
Swimming will take place from July 7-12, while artistic swimming will run from June 30 – July 4. Diving, open water, and high diving will be hosted in Budapest.
The biennial senior edition of the meet will take place from July 31 to August 16 in Paris.
Russia and Belarus
In a separate but simultaneously-released announcement, European Aquatics also announced that restrictions have been lifted from Russian and Belarusian athletes on the youth and junior levels.
“…for all non- Senior events, athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports will be permitted to participate without background checks and in full compliance with European Aquatics protocols relating to flags, anthems, uniforms, and associated elements,” the announcement reads, stipulating that relevant national organizations must remain in good standing with the continent’s governing body.
World Aquatics also just made this same change to its junior meets.
At last year’s European Junior Championships, Russians and Belarusians could compete but could not represent their flag. From 2022-2024, athletes from those countries could not compete in European Junior Championships at all as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was supported by Belarus.
At the senior level, the “neutral athlete” regulations from 2025 remain intact. A junior-aged Russian or Belarusian athlete aiming to compete at the senior European Champions will be subjected to the same regulations as their senior counterparts.
The actuality of senior competition in 2025 was more complex than the regulations on paper. Poland denied Russian swimmer visas to compete in the country’s 2025 Short Course European Championships in Lublin. This reportedly prompted World Aquatics to call on Polish officials to permit entry. Ultimately, Russia and Belarus did not send contingents to Lublin. It’s unclear if the French government will follow similar steps to the Polish government for Paris 2026. Lublin sits within 50 miles of both the Belarusian and Ukrainian border lines, contrasting Paris and France in this regard.
