Euro Champion Barbora Seemanova Returns To Racing In Pilsen This Weekend

2022 CZECH CUP – PILSEN SPRINTS

• Friday, October 14th – Sunday, October 16th
• Pilsen, Czech Republic
• SCM (25m)
• Results
• Livestream

The 2022 Czech Cup – Pilsen Sprints is set to begin on Friday, October 14th with several key domestic swimmers ready to race.

Among them is Barbora Seemanova, the 22-year-old who introduced herself to the world by way of taking the women’s 200m freestyle gold medal at the 2020 European Championships. She followed that up with a 6th place finish in the event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The road has been rocky since then for Seemanova, however, as the national record holder was forced to withdraw from both this year’s World Championships and European Championships due to health reasons. Seemanova was first hit with a herniated disc, then Lyme disease, COVID-19 and a fall, all of which caused her to opt out of international racing.

Within the last year, Seemanova also changed coaches, leaving longtime guide Petra Skabova to instead be under the tutelage of Swiss coach Luka Gabrilo, the man who also has Canadian-turned-Phillipino swimmer Kayla Sanchez on his squad.

Gabrilo previously worked as the head coach of the Israeli national team, including guiding Anastasia Gorbenko to the 2021 European title in the women’s 200 IM. In 2021, he served as the head coach of Team Iron in the International Swimming League (ISL).

Seemanova, who doesn’t appear to have raced since July, is set to take on six events at this Czech Cup, including the 50m/100m/200m freestyle and 50m/100m/200m butterfly races.

Additional contestants expected to race this weekend include Czech swimmers Simona Kubova, Jan Cejka and Tomas Franta.

Sweden’s European Championships silver medalist Erik Persson is entered in the meet, as is Romania’s Robert Glinta and Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo.