2026 EUROPEAN JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, July 7 – Sunday, July 12, 2026
- Munich, Germany
- LCM (50 meters)
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results
- Recaps
Nathan Muratory swam a massive personal best in the boys’ 200 backstroke final, stopping the clock in 1:55.88 to set a new French U18 record and become the 3rd-fastest French man in history in the event.
BOYS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL
- World Junior Record: 1:55.14, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017
- European Junior Record: 1:55.14, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017
- Championship Record: 1:55.79, Oleksandr Zheltyakov (UKR), 2023
- 2025 European Junior Champion: 1:57.89, Zsombor Rácz (HUN)
GOLD – Nathan Muratory (FRA), 1:55.88
SILVER – Daniel Ransom (GBR), 1:59.00
BRONZE – Mateusz Bienkowski (POL), 1:59.19
Muratory won the event by more than three seconds with his 1:55.88 coming in ahead of Daniel Ransom‘s 1:59.00 for 2nd place overall.
He took a second-and-a-half off his previous best time of 1:57.31, which he set at the French Elite Championships a few weeks ago to earn his way onto the French European Championships team.
Muratory also shattered the French U18 record in the event, taking more than a second off the previous time of 1:57.15 set by Merlin Ficher in July of 2023.
Split Comparison
| Splits | Former Record — 1:57.15, Merlin Ficher (2023) | New Record — 1:55.88, Nathan Muratory (2026) |
Muratory’s Former Best — 1:57.31 (2026)
|
| 50 | 27.76 | 27.36 | 27.77 |
| 100 | 29.39 | 29.29 | 29.58 |
| 150 | 29.92 | 29.84 | 30.09 |
| 200 | 30.08 | 29.39 | 29.88 |
Muratory was faster on all four 50s than the former record and than his former best time. His final 50 of 29.39 was the biggest difference maker, as he swam under 30 seconds on all four 50s, and was seven tenths faster on the final 50 than the former record time.
He now holds all three French U18 backstroke records. This swim also makes him the 3rd fastest performer in French history in the event, coming in only behind French record holder Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Mewen Tomac.
Updated Top Five French Men All-Time
- Yohann Ndoye-Brouard — 1:54.47 (2025)
- Mewen Tomac — 1:55.38 (2024)
- Nathan Muratory — 1:55.88 (2026)
- Benjamin Stasiulis — 1:56.39 (2012)
- Antoine Herlem — 1:56.42 (2021)
Finally, Muratory’s swim will move him up to 12th in the world this year, two hundredths behind Oliver Morgan‘s 1:55.86.
2025-2026 LCM Men 200 BACK
SISKOS
1:54.12
| 2 | Hubert Kos | HUN | 1:54.21 | 12/06 |
| 3 | Pieter Coetze | RSA | 1:55.26 | 04/18 |
| 4 | Lee Juho | KOR | 1:55.34 | 12/16 |
| 5 | Roman MITYUKOV | SUI | 1:55.36 | 04/11 |
| 6 | Hidekazu Takehara | JPN | 1:55.50 | 09/04 |
| 7 | YUMEKI KOJIMA | JPN | 1:55.62 | 06/06 |
| 8 | John SHORTT | IRL | 1:55.70 | 04/11 |
| 9 | Alexey Tkachev | RUS | 1:55.76 | 06/09 |
| 10 | Lukas MARTENS | GER | 1:55.85 | 04/17 |
| 11 | Oliver MORGAN | GBR | 1:55.86 | 04/19 |
| 12 | Nathan MURATORY | FRA | 1:55.88 | 07/10 |
| 13 | Hugo GONZALEZ DE OLIVEIRA | ESP | 1:55.95 | 06/27 |
| 14 | Luke Greenbank | GBR | 1:56.01 | 04/19 |
| 15 | Georgy Smirnov | RUS | 1:56.11 | 04/19 |
Muratory is committed to swim at the University of Michigan in the fall.
Speaking of frenchmen, Marchand’s new docuseries following him after Paris just came out