2024 Slovakian National Championships
- June 7-9, 2024
- Samorin, Slovakia
- LCM (50 meters)
Rising Queens University of Charlotte sophomore Frantisek Jablcnik lowered his own Slovakian record in the 200-meter freestyle over the weekend with a winning time of 1:49.38.
The 20-year-old shaved .15 seconds off his national standard of 1:49.53 from last month, which broke Marcel Gery‘s 38-year-old record of 1:50.06 from way back in 1986. Jablcnik remains a few seconds shy of the Olympic ‘A’ cut in the 200 free (1:46.26).
Jablcnik also posted personal bests in the 100 free (51.00) and 100 butterfly (54.24) along with another victory in the 400 IM (4:25.94). He dropped a few tenths off his best 100 free time from 2022 (51.31) and about a tenth off his best 100 fly time from last month (54.35).
Rising Ohio State senior Teresa Ivan was just a tenth off a 22-year-old Slovakian record in the 50 free with her win in 25.19. She narrowly missed Martina Moravcova‘s standard of 25.09 from the 2002 European Championships while also coming within a blink of her personal-best 25.15 from last June. The Olympic ‘A’ cut in the 50 free sits at 24.70.
Ivan also won the 100 free in 55.84, not far off her personal-best 55.43 from last month. She’s about a second shy of Moravcov’s national record (54.45 from 2000) and two seconds away from the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 53.61.
Lillian Slusna reached the wall close behind Ivan in the 50 free with a runner-up finish in 25.28. The 18-year-old knocked about a tenth of a second off her previous-best 25.39 from last August. Slusna added a 56.00 100 free that just missed her personal-best 55.88 from the World Junior Championships last September.
Samuel Kostal triumphed in the 200 fly with a time of 1:57.28, just a couple hundredths shy of his national record (1:57.26) from last month’s Mare Nostrum stop in Barcelona, Spain. The 17-year-old is about a second and a half away from the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 1:55.78. Kostal claimed another 1st-place finish in the 1500 free (15:54.01), well off the Olympic ‘A’ cut (15:00.99).
Recent Queens University of Charlotte graduate Matej Dusa dominated the men’s sprint freestyle events. The 23-year-old took the 50 free title in 22.74 and 100 free crown in 50.19. Dusa set Slovakian records in both events at the 2024 World Championships in February with times of 22.11 and 49.12, respectively. The Olympic ‘A’ cuts stand at 21.96 and 48.34.
Nikoleta Trnikova pulled off a 200 breaststroke victory against Slovakian record holder Andrea Podmanikova. Trnikova, 21, touched in 2:28.59, a few seconds ahead of the 26-year-old Podmanikova (2:31.98). Trnikova was about a second off her personal-best 2:27.54 from 2022 and within five seconds of the Olympic ‘A’ cut (2:23.91).
Podmanikova captured the 100 breast crown in 1:09.60, a second slower than her lifetime best from last December (1:08.02) and about three seconds off the Olympic ‘A’ cut (1:06.79). She swam collegiately at both SMU and NC State.
