2024 European Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 17-23, 2024
• LCM (50 meters)
• Belgrade, Serbia
• Prelims: 9:30 am local time
• Finals: 5:30 pm local time
• Psych Sheets 
• Men’s Storylines
• Women’s Storylines
• Live Results
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet

The first finals session of the 2024 European Championships kicks off tonight in Belgrade, Serbia, with the men’s 400 IM the only individual final on today’s schedule.

There will also be semifinals of the men’s 50 butterfly, women’s 100 freestyle, women’s 200 backstroke, and men’s 100 breaststroke along with men’s and women’s 4×200 free relay finals at the end of the session.

Balazs Hollo (4:12.46) paced the men’s 400 IM heats this morning ahead of Hungarian teammate Gabor Zombori (4:13.75).

The session will begin with the men’s 50 fly semis, where Israel’s Meiron Amir Cheruti (23.37) and Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov (23.33) enter as the top seeds.

In the women’s 100 free, the Czech pair of Barbora Janickova (54.55) and Barbora Seemanova (54.04) established themselves as the favorites in prelims this morning.

The Hungarian duo of Dora Molnar (2:09.92) and Eszter Szabo Feltothy (2:09.77) were the only swimmers under 2:10 in the 200 back heats this morning.

Germany’s Melvin Imoudu (59.43) and Lithuania’s Andrius Sidlauskas (59.36) only two men under one minute in the 100 breast.

Hungary comes in as the top seed in the women’s 4×200 free relay (8:03.82) while Lithuania leads the men’s 4×200 free relay (7:09.75).

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• European Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• Championship Record: 22.48 – Andrii Govorov, Ukraine (2018)

Top 8:

1. Stergios Marios Bilas (GRE) – 23.06
2. Meiron Amir Cheruti (ISR) – 23.20
3. Szebasztian Szabo (HUN) – 23.23
4. Tie: Simon Bucher (AUT) / Vladyslav Bukhov (UKR) – 23.29
5. –
6. Daniel Gracik (CZE) – 23.31
7. Nikola Miljenic (CRO) – 23.34
8. Denis-Laurean Popescu (ROU) – 23.45

Stergios Marios Bilas shaved a tenth off his Greek record in the 50 fly from last August’s European U23 Championships (23.16) to take the top seed in 23.06 heading into tomorrow night’s final. The 22-year-old sprinter placed 16th in the event at February’s World Championships with a time of 23.53.

Meiron Amir Cheruti took the No. 2 seed in 23.20, within a couple tenths of his Israeli record (23.01) from April’s Eindhoven Qualification Meet.

2021 European champion Szebasztian Szabo of Hungary is right in the mix at 23.20 as the third-fastest qualifier, a few tenths off his national record of 22.90 from the 2019 World Championships.

Austria’s Simon Bucher and Ukrainian 50 free world champion Vladyslav Bukhov tied for the No. 4 seed at 23.29. Czech Republic’s Daniel Gracik (23.31) and Croatia’s Nikola Miljenic (23.34) also reached the wall within a few tenths of Bilas.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 51.71 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• European Record: 51.71 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• Championship Record: 52.67 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2014)

Top 8:

1. Barbora Seemanova (CZE) – 53.95
2. Nikolett Padar (HUN) – 54.17
3. Barbora Janickova (CZE) – 54.32
4. Kalia Antoniou (CYP) – 54.39
5. Kornelia Fiedkiewicz (POL) – 54.50
6. Lena Kreundl (AUT) – 54.81
7. Tie: Andrea Murez (ISR) / Minna Abraham (HUN) – 54.90
8. –

Barbora Seemanova topped the women’s 100 free semifinals with the lone sub-54 second effort, her time of 53.95 not far off her own Czech record (53.68) from the 2021 European Championships. She needs to drop a few more tenths in tomorrow’s final to hit the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 53.61.

Nikolett Padar blasted a personal-best 54.17 en route to the second qualifying spot behind Seemanova, dropping a couple tenths off her previous-best 54.41 from April’s Hungarian Championships.

Czech swimmer Barbora Janickova also clocked a new lifetime best, finishing with the third-fastest semifinal time at 54.32. She dropped almost three tenths off her previous-best 54.61 from April’s Eindhoven Qualification Meet.

MEN’S 400 IM – FINAL

• World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, France (2023)
• European Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, France (2023)
• Championship Record: 4:09.59 – Laszlo Cseh, Hungary (2008)

Top 8:

1. Apostolos Papastamos (GRE) – 4:10.83
2. Balazs Hollo (HUN) – 4:11.51
3. Gabor Zombori (HUN) – 4:11.70
4. Daniil Giourtzidis (GRE) – 4:16.64
5. Marius Toscan (SUI) – 4:17.51
6. Heorhii Lukashev (UKR) – 4:21.20
7. Juraj Barcot (CRO) – 4:21.52
8. Richard Nagy (SVK) – 4:22.14

Apostolos Papastamos crushed his Greek record by a second to claim the men’s 400 IM crown ahead of Hungarians Balazs Hollo (4:11.51) and Gabor Zombori (4:11.70). It was first lifetime best for the 23-year-old Papastamos in five years since the 2019 World Junior Championships, when he set a world junior record of 4:11.93 to beat Ilya Bordin and Leon Marchand for the title.

Silver medalist Hollo was within a second of his personal-best 4:10.87 from the 2022 World Championships while bronze medalist Zombori sliced exactly a second off his lifetime best of 4:12.70 from April.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• European Record: 2:04.94 – Anastasia Zueva, Russia (2009)
• Championship Record: 2:06.08 – Margherita Panziera, Italy (2021)

Top 8:

1. Dora Molnar (HUN) – 2:09.67
2. Eszter Szabo Feltothy (HUN) – 2:10.21
3. Adela Piskorska (POL) – 2:10.26
4. Holly McGill (GBR) – 2:10.59
5. Camila Rebelo (POR) – 2:10.73
6. Aviv Barzelay (ISR) – 2:11.38
7. Aissia Claudia Prisecariu (ROU) – 2:11.63
8. Nika Sharafutdinova (UKR) – 2:11.88

Dora Molnar narrowly missed her best 200 back time with a top qualifying mark of 2:09.67 in the semifinals. The 17-year-old Hungarian has been as fast as 2:09.34 at the 2022 Hungarian Championships.

Hungarian countrywoman Eszter Szabo Feltothy could be Molnar’s toughest competition for the European title on Tuesday night. She qualified 2nd in 2:10.21 and owns a lifetime best of 2:08.85 from last April.

Poland’s Adela Piskorska was within a second of her personal best (2:09.40 from last April) on her way to the No. 3 seed at 2:10.26. The 20-year-old has already qualified for the Paris Olympics in both the 100 back and 200 back.

Holly McGill qualified 4th in 2:10.59, about a second off her personal-best 2:09.19 that placed her 3rd at April’s British National Championships.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)
• European Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)
• Championship Record: 57.10 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2018)

Top 8:

1. Melvin Imoudu (GER) – 59.28
2. Berkay Omer Ogretir (TUR) – 59.54
3. Lucas Joachim Matzerath (GER) – 59.71
4. Jan Kalusowski (POL) – 59.77
5. Bernhard Reitshammer (AUT) – 59.98
6. Andrius Sidlauska (LTU) – 1:00.18
7. Darragh Greene (IRL) – 1:00.46
8. Lyubomir Epitropov (BUL) – 1:00.47

Melvin Imoudu is the top qualifier heading into tomorrow’s 100 breast final at 59.28. The 25-year-old German already punched his ticket to the Paris Olympics with a 59.07 from the Eindhoven Qualification Meet in April.

Turkey’s Berkay Omer Ogretir took the second qualifying spot at 59.54, not far off his personal-best 59.18 from last April.

Germany’s Lucas Matzerath (59.71), Poland’s Jan Kalusowski (59.77), and Austria’s Bernhard Reitshammer (59.98). Matzerath has been sub-59 seconds before (58.74) at the 2023 World Championships. Kalusowski dropped almost a tenth off his previous-best 59.86 from last August. Reitshammer was exactly three tenths shy of his personal-best 59.68 from last April as he aims to get under the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 59.49.

WOMEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
• European Record: 7:45.51 – Great Britain (2009)
• Championship Record: 7:50.53 – Italy (2014)

Top 8:

1. Israel – 7:51.83
2. Hungary – 7:52.92
3. Turkey – 8:01.58
4. Germany – 8:01.67
5. Slovenia – 8:06.93
6. Austria – 8:12.13
7. Slovakia – 8:20.03
8. Armenia – 8:53.63

Israel absolutely annihilated its national record in the women’s 4×200 free relay with a winning time of 7:51.83 courtesy of Anastasia Gorbenko (1:56.74), Daria Golovaty (1:57.94), Ayla Spitz (1:59.07), and Lea Polonsky (1:58.08). The gold marks Israel’s first-ever Euros relay medal of any color at this meet.

The quartet crushed the old Israeli standard of 7:59.02 from the 2023 World Championships, which qualified the country for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Gorbenko dropped more than a second off her previous-best 200 free time from the 2023 World Championships (1:58.18) to break Andrea Murez‘s Israeli record of 1:57.87 from 2021. Spitz was the new addition to the lineup this year, replacing Murez after wrapping up her NCAA career at Northwestern in March.

Hungary nearly caught up to Israel at the end thanks to a blistering 1:55.87 anchor leg form Nikolett Padar. The 18-year-old owns a flat-start personal best of 1:56.17 from last October’s World Cup stop in Budapest.

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 6:58.55 – USA (2009)
• European Record: 6:58.58 – Great Britain (2021)
• Championship Record: 7:03.49 – Russia (2021)

Top 8:

1. Lithuania – 7:08.04
2. Hungary – 7:09.59
3. Greece – 7:09.73
4. Israel – 7:09.92
5. Germany – 7:13.95
6. Croatia – 7:16.22
7. Ireland – 7:17.97
8. Bulgaria – 7:32.07

The Lithuanian men closed out the session by triumphing in the 4×200 free relay with a winning time of 7:08.04, shaving almost two seconds off their national record of 7:09.97 from the 2024 World Championships in February.

Hungary (7:09.59) and Greece (7:09.73) rounded out the podium a couple seconds behind Lithuania. Results for this event still haven’t loaded online so splits remain unavailable at this time.