2024 LC European Championships: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 17-23, 2024
• LCM (50 meters)
• Belgrade, Serbia
• Prelims: 9:30 am local time
• Finals: 6:30 pm local time
• Psych Sheets 
• Men’s Storylines
• Women’s Storylines
• Live Results

Day 1 Prelims Start Lists

The 2024 European Championships kick off this morning in Belgrade, marking the first day of the 7-day meet. This morning’s heats will feature preliminaries of the men’s 400 IM, w0men’s 100 free, men’s 50 fly, women’s 200 back, men’s 100 breast, women’s 4×200 free relay, men’s 4×200 free relay, and women’s 800 free. The women’s 800 free prelims will take place this morning and the final will be in tomorrow night’s finals session.

The men’s 50 fly today will feature superstar Hungarian flyer Kristof Milak. Milak is the 9th seed coming into the event, however, as one of the fastest 100 flyers in history, we should see a great race out of him.

Czech Republic’s Barbora Seemanova and Denmark’s Signe Bro are the only two women entered under 54 seconds in the 100 free this morning. That sets the pair up quite well for this race, since there are only 8 total swimmers seeded under 55 seconds in the event.

Hungary holds 4 of the top 5 seeds in the men’s 400 IM this morning. Gabor Zambori leads the way with a 4:12.70 entry time, though be sure to keep an eye on Zalan Sarkany, who is coming off a terrific season in the USA competing for Arizona State University.

MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – HEATS

• 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 QUALIFIERS:

1. Balazs Hollo (Hungary) – 4:12.46
2. Gabor Zambori (Hungary) – 4:13.75
3. Dominik Torok (Hungary) – 4:14.76*
4. Zalan Sarkany (Hungary) – 4:15.16*
5. Apostolos Papastamos (Greece) – 4:15.97
6. Marius Toscan (Switzerland) – 4:18.91
7. Daniil Giourtzidis (Greece) – 4:19.11
8. Juraj Barcot (Croatia) – 4:20.96
9. Richard Nagy (Slovakia) – 4:21.39
10. Heorhii Lukashev (Ukraine) – 4:21.82

Hungary produced the top 4 swimmers in the heats this morning, led by Balazs Hollo, who put up a very strong prelims performance of 4:12.46. The 25-year-old was fantastic on the back half of the race, splitting a field-leading 1:11.39 on the breaststroke leg and 57.74 on free, which was also the fastest in the field. He paired very solid front half splits of 57.15 on fly and 1:06.20 on back with his back half.

Hungarian teammate Gabor Zambori opened up a huge lead early in the race this morning, splitting 2:00.75 on the opening 200m of the race. Zambori swam a 56.11 on fly, making him the only swimmer in the field to go under 57 seconds on that leg of the race. He then put up a field-leading 1:04.64 on backstroke, resulting in a huge lead at the halfway point. He would go on to finish 2nd overall with a 4:13.75.

Hungarians Dominik Torok and Zalan Sarkany came in the 3rd and 4th respectively this morning with times of 4:14.76 and 4:15.16. Unfortunately for those two, only two swimmers from each country are able to advance beyond the heats at the European Championships, so they will not be advancing to tonight’s final.

Greece’s Apostolos Papastamos came in 5th overall but will be the 3rd seed in the final tonight. This morning, Papastamos swam a 4:15.97, fueled by a great middle of the race. He split 1:05.03 on backstroke and a 1:11.89 on breaststroke, both of which were the 2nd-fastest splits in the field this morning.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• 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 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Barbora Seemanova (Czech Republic) – 54.04
2. Barbora Janickova (Czech Republic) – 54.55
3. Nikolett Padar (Hungary) – 54.85
4. Kalia Antoniou (Cypress) – 54.88
5. Kornelia Fiedkiewicz (Poland) – 55.00
6. Sandrine Jazy (Germany) – 55.04 (TIE)
7. Minna Abraham (Hungary) – 55.04 (TIE)
8. Petra Senanszky (Hungary) – 55.05*
9. Panna Ugrai (Hungary) – 55.14*
10. Andrea Murez (Israel) – 55.28
11. Lena Kreundl (Austria) – 55.41
12. Elisabeth Ebbesen (Denmark) – 55.43
13. Signe Bro (Denmark) – 55.52
14. Aleksa Gold (Estonia) – 55.58
15. Iris Berger (Austria) – 55.61
16. Zuzanna Famulok (Poland) – 55.65
17. Teresa Ivan (Slovakia) – 55.83
18. Daria Golovaty (Israel) – 55.87

The Czech Republic produced the top two swimmers of the morning in the women’s 100 free, seeing Barbora Seemanova clock a very solid 54.04 to lead the way. Seemanova was out quick this morning, splitting 25.83 on the opening 50m, then came home in 28.21. Fellow countrywoman Barbora Janickova had a great swim this morning, taking 2nd with a 54.55.

Hungarian 18-year-old Nikolett Padar came in 3rd this morning with a 54.85. Padar put up the fastest 2nd 50 split in the field this morning, coming home in 28.15 after splitting 26.70 on the opening 50. Fellow Hungarian Minna Abraham tied for 6th this morning with a 55.04. Meanwhile, Petra Senanszky and Panna Ugrai were 8th and 9th respectively, meaning they will not advance to the semifinals tonight.

Cypress’ Kalia Antoniou was the only other swimmer to go under 55 seconds this morning, clocking a 54.88 to take 4th.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – HEATS

• 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 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Vladyslav Bukhov (Ukraine) – 23.33
2. Meiron Cheruti (Israel) – 23.37
3. Stergios Bilas (Greece) – 23.42
4. Simon Bucher (Austria) – 23.43
5. Daniel Gracik (Czech Republic) – 23.45
6. Szebasztian Szabo (Hungary) – 23.49
7. Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 23.51
8. Luca Armbruster (Germany) – 23.53 (TIE)
9. Jakub Majerski (Poland) – 23.53 (TIE)
10. Jan Sefl (Czech Republic) – 23.59
11. Djurdje Matic (Serbia) – 23.61
12. Kristof Milak (Hungary) – 23.63*
13. Casper Puggaard (Denmark) – 23.66
14. Daniel Zaitsev (Estonia) – 23.70
15. Max McCusker (Ireland) – 23.72
16. Nikola Miljenic (Croatia) – 23.73
17. Denis Popescu (Romania) – 23.79 (TIE)
18. Tibor Tistan (Slovakia) – 23.79 (TIE)

Firstly, there was a tie for 16th in the men’s 50 fly this morning between Romania’s Denis Popescu and Slovakia’s Tibor Tistan, both of whom swam 23.79. That will have to be settled through a swim-off to see which swimmer advances to tonight’s semifinals.

UPDATE: Denis Popescu won the swim-off against Tibor Tistan, swimming a 23.48 to Tistan’s 23.76. Popescu will race in tonight’s semifinals. 

Additionally, there was a significant miss in this morning’s prelims. Hungarian star Kristof Milak came in 12th overall this morning with a 23.63. While that put him in the top 16 swimmers this morning, Milak was Hungary’s 3rd-fastest swimmer of the morning, meaning he is not eligible to advance to semifinals tonight.

The Hungarian duo that did make it through was Szebasztian Szabo and Hubert Kos, who went 23.49 and 23.51 respectively to finish 6th and 7th.

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov led the field this morning with a 23.33, while Israel’s Meiron Cheruti was right behind in 23.37.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – HEATS

• 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 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Eszter Szabo (Hungary) – 2:09.77
2. Dora Molnar (Hungary) – 2:09.92
3. Katalin Burian (Hungary) – 2:10.63*
4. Holly McGill (Great Britain) – 2:10.75
5. Adela Piskorska (Poland) – 2:11.35
6. Camila Rebelo (Portugal) – 2:11.42
7. Aviv Barzelay (Israel) – 2:12.10
8. Maya Werner (Germany) – 2:12.85
9. Gabriela Georgieva (Bulgaria) – 2:12.90
10. Aissia Prisecariu (Romania) – 2:13.89
11. Tatiana Salcutan (Moldova) – 2:14.01
12. Vivien Jackl (Hungary) – 2:14.21*
13. Nika Sharafutdinova (Ukraine) – 2:14.40
14. Laura Bernat (Poland) – 2:14.91
15. Justine Murdock (Lithuania) – 2:16.25
16. Lottie Cullen (Ireland) – 2:16.95
17. Karoline Sorensen (Denmark) – 2:17.00
18. Tom Mienis (Israel) – 2:17.08

Hungary was dominant in the women’s 200 back prelims this morning, putting up the top 3 times in the field. Eszter Szabo clocked the top time of the morning, touching in 2:09.77. She led fellow Hungarian Dora Molnar by just 0.15 seconds. Molnar was out the faster of the two, splitting 1:03.66 on the first 100m to Szabo’s 1:04.30.

Katalin Burian was 3rd this morning in 2:10.63, however, as the 3rd Hungarian in the event, she won’t be able to race in semifinals tonight.

Great Britain’s Holly McGill put up a very solid morning swim, clocking in at 2:10.75 for 4th overall.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – HEATS

• 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 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Andrius Sidlauskas (Lithuania) – 59.36
2. Melvin Imoudu (Germany) – 59.43
3. Ron Polonsky (Israel) – 1:00.07
4. Lucas Matzerath (Germany) – 1:00.09
5. Berkay Ogretir (Turkey) – 1:00.33
6. Lyubomir Epitropov (Bulgaria) – 1:00.37
7. Jan Kalusowski (Poland) – 1:00.39
8. Darragh Greene (Ireland) – 1:00.53
9. Valentin Bayer (Austria) – 1:00.61
10. Bernhard Reitshammer (Austria) – 1:00.64
11. Noel de Geus (Germany) – 1:00.66*
12. Jonathan Itzhaki (Israel) – 1:00.70
13. Huseyin Sakci (Turkey) – 1:00.73
14. Kristian Pitshugin (Israel) – 1:01.11*
15. Volodymyr Lisovets (Ukraine) – 1:01.20
16. Jeremy Desplanches (Switzerland) – 1:01.36
17. Eoin Corby (Ireland) – 1:01.39
18. Vojtech Netrh (Czech Republic) – 1:01.41

Lithuania’s Andrius Sidlauskas clocked the top time of the morning in the men’s 100 breaststroke, swimming a 59.36. Sidlauskas clocked the fastest opening 50 split in the field this morning, getting out to a 27.54 on the first lap. He then came home in 31.82.

Germany’s Mam Imoudu was the only other man under 1:00 this morning, taking 2ndc in 59.43. Imoudu led a charge by Germany that saw 3 swimmers finish in the top 16. Lucas Matzerath came in 4th with a 1:00.09, while Noel De Geus came in 11th in 1:00.66. De Geus will not advance to semifinals, as he was the 3rd-fastest German.

Israel’s Ron Polonsky came in 3rd this morning with a 1:00.07. He had the fastest 2nd 50 in the field this morning, swimming a 31.62.

WOMEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – HEATS

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

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Hungary – 8:03.82
2. Israel – 8:04.85
3. Turkey – 8:05.87
4. Slovenia – 8:22.82
5. Austria – 8:25.43
6. Slovakia – 8:25.84
7. Germany – 8:27.61
8. Armenia – 9:02.18

The women’s 4×200 free relay prelims this morning turned out to be a formality, as only 8 teams competed, which means all 8 teams advanced to the final tonight. Serbia was entered but did not swim this morning.

Hungary clocked the top time in the field this morning, though, the top 3 with them, Israel, and Turkey was pretty tight. The Hungarians saw Minna Abraham (2:00.79), Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:01.13), Panna Ugrai (1:59.99), and Nikolett Padar (2:01.91) team up for an 8:03.82. We know Hungary can be quite a bit faster tonight in finals, as at the very least Padar has a lot left to give than the 2:01.91. Padar holds a career best of 1:56.17 in the 200 free.

Israel was right behind in 8:04.85. Daria Golovaty (2:00.48), Lea Polonsky (2:02.50), Andrea Murez (2:01.67), and Ayla Spitz (2:00.20) combined to make it happen.

For Turkey, Gizem Guvenc (2:00.71), Ela Ozdemir (2:01.16), Ecem Donmez (2:01.70), and Zehra Bilgin (2:02.30) put up an 8:05.87.

Other notable splits in the field included Janja Segel, who led Slovenia’s relay off in an impressive 1:57.87 this morning.

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – HEATS

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

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Lithuania – 7:09.75
2. Israel – 7:11.53
3. Hungary – 7:16.10
4. Germany – 7:16.22
5. Croatia – 7:16.23
6. Greece – 7:18.42
7. Ireland – 7:18.71
8. Bulgaria – 7:19.20

Lithuania led the way in the prelims of the men’s 4×200 free relay this morning, clocking a 7:09.75. Tomas Navikonis (1:47.43), Tomas Lukminas (1:46.90), Kristupas Trepocka (1:48.20), and Rokas Jazdauskas (1:47.90) combined to put up the speedy morning swim. In fact, the performance this morning marks a new Lithuanian Record in the event, bettering the country’s previous top mark of 7:09.97, which was set at the World Championships in Doha in Febraury of this year. Of note, that World Champs relay featured star freestyler Danas Rapsys, who led the team off in 1:45.78, making the record this morning all the more impressive.

Israel wasn’t far behind this morning, clocking a 7:11.53 for 2nd. Eitan Ben Shitrit led the Israeli team off in 1:48.51, followed by Bar Soloveychik (1:46.73), Romano Yoav (1:48.20), and Gal Groumi (1:48.09). Notably, Ben Shitrit and Groumi are teammates in the the USA, where they train at the University of Michigan.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 8:04.79 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2016)
• European Record: Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain (2008)
• Championship Record: Jazmin Carlin, Great Britain (2014)

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS: