17-Year-Old Lana Pudar Crushes Euro Juniors Meet Record in 200 Fly with 2:06.26

2023 EUROPEAN JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, July 4th – Sunday, July 9th
• Sports and Recreational Center “Milan Gale Muškatirović”, Belgrade, Serbia
• Prelims at 10am local (4am EDT)/Finals at 5pm local (11am EDT)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entries
• SwimSwam Preview
• Live Results
• Livestream
• Day 1 Prelims Recap |Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap | Day 4 Finals Live Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Recap | Day 5 Finals Live Recap

Lana Pudar absolutely demolished the European Junior Championships meet record during her 200-meter butterfly victory in 2:06.26 on Saturday night.

The 17-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina shaved more than half a second off her national-record 2:06.81 that earned her the senior European title last year, finishing more than two seconds under the old meet record of 2:08.41 set by Russia’s Anastasia Markova in 2021.

Pudar is now faster than the U.S. girls’ 17-18 national age group (NAG) record of 2:06.39 clocked by Regan Smith in 2020.

Her new lifetime best is the latest reminder that Pudar is a legitimate medal threat in the 200 fly at the World Championships later this month in Fukuoka, Japan. At last year’s Worlds in Budapest, Hungary, she placed 6th in 2:07.85, but her time tonight would have earned her the bronze medal in that race.

This season, she ranks fourth in the world, not far behind the red-hot Smith (2:03.87) defending world champion Summer McIntosh (2:04.70), and Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers (2:05.26).

GIRLS 200 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Junior Record: 2:04.70, Summer McIntosh (CAN) 2023
• European Record: 2:04.27, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2009
• Championship Record: 2:08.41, Anastasia Markova (RUS) 2021
• 2022 European Junior Champion: Lana Pudar (BIH) 2:08.92

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Lana Pudar (BIH) 2:06.26 *Championship Record
• SILVER: Alina Baievych (GER) 2:10.78
• BRONZE: Glenda Abonyi-Toth (HUN) 2:11.61

Pudar opened in 1:00.30, already leading by a body length at the first turn, and brought it home in 1:06.23 to touch more than four seconds ahead of runner-up Alina Baievych of Germany (2:10.78).

On Friday, Pudar won the 100 fly with a new national record of 56.95, her first-ever foray under the 57-second barrier. Later in Saturday’s session, she placed 2nd in the 50 fly semifinals with a 26.62 behind Denmark’s Martine Damborg (26.53). She’ll go for the butterfly sweep on Sunday.

Pudar collected her first major international medal (bronze) in the 200 fly at the 2021 Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi, posting a time of 2:04.88 for a new national record.