2022 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, July 5th – Sunday, July 10th
- Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex, Bucharest, Romania
- LCM (50m)
- Start Times
- Prelims: 10 a.m. local / 3 a.m. ET
- Finals: 5 p.m. local / 10 a.m. ET
- Meet Central
- Entries
- Live Results
- Live Stream
GIRLS’ 50 BACKSTROKE – SEMIFINAL
- World Junior Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton, AUS (2016)
- European Junior Record: 27.51 – Daria Vaskina, RUS (2019)
European Junior Championship Record: 27.82 – Daria Vaskina, RUS (2019)- 2021 European Junior Champion: Carmen Weiler Sastre (ESP) – 28.42
16-year-old Mary-Ambre Moluh of France began her reign of backstroke dominance at the 2022 European Junior Championships by clocking a championship record time of 27.75 in the semifinals of the girls’ 50 back. She takes 0.07 seconds off of Russian swimmer Daria Vaskina‘s old record time of 22.82 from 2019.
In her race, Moluh had over a body-length lead over the rest of the field, beating second-place finisher Lora Komoroczy by 0.66 seconds to head into the finals as the top seed and heavy favorite to win. Moluh’s time was just a bit off her personal best time of 27.63 that she set in May 2022. In the finals, she will have to drop less than two-tenths to break Vaskina’s European Junior Record time of 27.51 and Minna Atherton‘s world junior record time of 27.49.
Moluh is having a huge breakout season, alongside many other French female backstrokers this year. At the French National championships, her and Emma Terebo broke a minute for the first time in the 100 back, with Terebo winning in 59.64 and Moluh taking second with a time of 59.67. Their teammate, Analia Pigree, won bronze in the 50 back at the 2022 World Championships, setting a French record time of 27.29 in the semifinals of the event.
Opting not to swim at worlds, Moluh has put her focus on these European Junior Championships. In addition to being most people’s pick to win the 50 back, she also comes as the top seed in the 100 back by over a second and the second-fastest seed in the 100 free.
