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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.
Rising Czech talent Jan Foltyn reached a minor milestone in the 100 breaststroke at last week’s National Junior and U22 Championships in the Czech city of Ústí nad Labem, breaking the 1:02 barrier for the first time.
Foltyn, 18, came into the meet with a lifetime best of 1:02.13, set en route to a 19th-place finish at the 2025 World Junior Championships, and he came close to lowering it in April, clocking 1:02.14 at the Graz Trophy in Australia.
But last weekend, Foltyn broke through by firing off a time of 1:01.91 en route to winning the Czech junior title, using his blistering front-end speed to get out fast before holding on down the stretch.
Foltyn is known for his drop-dead speed. He broke the Czech Record in the 50 breast at the Graz Trophy earlier this year, putting up a time of 27.18, a swim that ranks him #1 this season among European juniors. He also set a new national record in the 50 free in 22.24.
In the 100 breast, he leans on that speed on the front end, but is still developing the ability to hold things together coming home. He split 33.80 on the second 50 en route to his best time last weekend, which is an improvement from his two 1:02.1 swims, though he has closed as fast as 33.22 in his career.
Split Comparison
| 2025 World Juniors | 2026 Graz Trophy | 2026 Czech Juniors |
| 28.07 | 28.25 | 28.11 |
| 1:02.13 (34.06) | 1:02.14 (33.89) | 1:01.91 (33.80) |
The performance pulls Foltyn within 32 one-hundredths of the Czech junior record of 1:00.59, set by Petr Bartunek in 2009.
The national record stands at 1:00.63, set by Matej Zabojnik in 2022.
In addition to the 100 breast, Foltyn also set a best time in the 100 back (57.80) at the meet, while he hit a new season-best in the 200 IM (2:04.90) and neared his PBs in the 50 free (22.42) and 50 breast (27.19) en route to victories.
At last year’s World Junior Championships, Foltyn won bronze in the 50 fly (23.65) and placed 6th in the 50 free (22.38) in addition to his 19th-place finish in the 100 breast.
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