2025 EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- December 2-7, 2025
- Prelims at 10am local (4am ET)/Finals at 7pm local (1pm ET)
- Lublin, Poland
- SCM (25 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Day 1 Prelims Recap
- Live Results
- Livestream
The men’s 200m backstroke heats took place this morning on day one of the 2025 European Short Course Championships.
Claiming the 4th seed were two swimmers, Hugo Gonzalez of Spain and John Shortt of Ireland, the latter of whom fired off a huge national record.
Entering this competition, 18-year-old Shortt’s lifetime best and Irish benchmark stood at the 1:51.60 notched during the heats at last year’s Short Course World Championships.
Flash forward to this morning in Poland, however, and Shortt managed to hack nearly an entire second off that result, hitting 1:50.65.
Comparing his two performances, the teen saved more gas on the back half, dipping under the 14-second threshold on three of the four last lengths of the pool.
| Shortt’s New IRL Record – 1:50.65 | Shortt’s Old IRL Record – 1:51.60 |
| 12.70 | 12.62 |
| 13.71 | 13.60 |
| 14.02 | 14.00 |
| 14.11 | 14.24 |
| 13.97 | 14.18 |
| 14.20 | 14.21 |
| 13.97 | 14.50 |
| 13.97 | 14.25 |
This performance comes on the heels of breakthrough outings at this year’s World Junior Championships. Shortt topped both the 100m and 200m backstroke podiums in Romania while also earning 50m back bronze.
Shortt still has his work cut out for him at these Championships, with French ace Mewen Tomac and British Olympic medalist Luke Greenbank ranked above him heading into tonight’s semi-finals.
Additional contenders lurking among the men are French relay medalist Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Czech national record holder Jan Cejka and an up-and-coming British swimmer in Jack Skerry.
MEN’S 200 BACK – HEATS
- WR: 1:45.12 – Hubert Kos (HUN), 2025
- WJR: 1:48.02 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017
- ER: 1:45.12 – Hubert Kos (HUN), 2025
- EJR: 1:48.02 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017
- CR: 1:48.02 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017
Top 16:
- Mewen Tomac (FRA) – 1:50.19
- Luke Greenbank (GBR) – 1:50.39
- Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (FRA) – 1:50.41
- Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) – 1:50.65 & John Shortt (IRL) – 1:50.65
- –
- Jan Cejka (CZE) – 1:51.06
- Ivan Martinezz Sota (ESP) – 1:51.08
- Apostolos Siskos (GRE) – 1:51.25
- Lorenzo Mora (ITA) – 1:51.52
- Jack Skerry (GBR) – 1:51.56
- Aukan Goldin (ISR) – 1:52.04
- Tudor-Andrei Iordache (ROU) – 1:53.00
- Benedek Kovacs (HUN) – 1:53.18
- Daren Kirilov (BUL) – 1:53.22
- Christian Bacico (ITA) – 1:53.41
- Flavio Bucca (SUI) – 1:53.72
