Silver, world and two national records. How were the final days of the CE

On Sunday, December 7, the European Short Course Swimming Championship ended in Lublin, Poland. For Ukraine, it was not the most outstanding tournament in history, but it was very decent in terms of the modern realities of our swimming. The tournament, which will be remembered first of all for the unique achievements of the young sprinter Nikita Sheremet. From his, set at the first stage of the junior world/adult national records, this European Championship opened for us and ended with the renewal of these achievements. There is only one nuance: the Ukrainians finished fourth in the relay and were left without a medal, while Sheremet himself won silver in the 50-meter breaststroke. In addition to Nikita, three more Ukrainians broke national records in Lublin.

In the qualification and semi-finals of the 50-meter freestyle, Sheremet swam almost identically – in 21.08 and 21.04 seconds. It was the fifth and sixth places, respectively. But it was quite clear that in order to fight for medals, Nikita in the final must swim from the 21st second for the second time in his career after the already mentioned 20.84 in the relay. He coped brilliantly with the task: 20.81 is a new Ukrainian record and a junior world record. The fastest in this final was only the 21-year-old Croatian Jere Hribar, who climbed to the podium of the adult championship of the continent for the first time. And Sheremet showed an absolutely identical time with the three-time world champion in butterfly distances Maxim Grousse from France and, accordingly, shared the silver step of the podium with him.

And Grusse won his second gold of this Euro a day earlier, when he won the royal sprint – the royal 100-meter sprint. He overtook Hrybar there, and there were no Ukrainians even in the semi-finals, although both Mykyta Sheremet and Ilya Linnyk broke their personal records in the qualification.

100 m freestyle, men
1. Maxim Grousse (France) – 45.17
2. Jere Hribar (Croatia) – 45.64
3. Matthew Richards (Great Britain) – 45.82
…26. Nikita Sheremet (Ukraine) – 47.36
…37. Ilya Linnyk (Ukraine) – 47.62

KMSP. Maxim Grusse

23-year-old Odessa resident Ihor Troyanovsky broke the 24-year-old record of the legendary Denys Silantiev in the 200-meter butterfly. In 2001, Denys won silver at the European Championship in Antwerp with a time of 1.53.34. Troyanovsky showed that he can swim at this level, qualifying in 1.54.54. And in the semifinals, Ihor showed a result of 1.53.15. This is a national record, but ninth overall, i.e. the first impenetrable place that did not give a pass to the finals. Places in the final eight were given only to those who swam faster than one minute and 53 seconds.

25-year-old Denys Kesil, who at one time surpassed Silantiev’s national record in the Olympic standard pool, also performed in the semi-finals. In the qualification, Kesil with a time of 1.54.00 performed better than Troyanovskyi. It was his personal record and the chances for the final seemed quite real. But in the semi-finals, Denys performed worse – 1.54.31.

21-year-old Georgy Lukashev also improved his personal record in the 200-meter breaststroke. For the first time in his career, he swam with a minute and 58 seconds, but with a time of 1.57.76, he did not make it to the semifinals.

And the Swiss Noé Ponti won the 200-meter dolphin race, winning his third gold of this European Championship. He also won three gold medals at the previous Euro in the 25-meter pool. Only then did Ponti win all three butterfly events. Now, in the 100-meter race, Noe lost to the above-mentioned Frenchman Maxim Grousse, but compensated for this relative failure by winning the 100-meter complex. Interestingly, 21-year-old twin brothers Krzysztof and Michal Chmielewski from Poland won silver and bronze in the 200-meter butterfly.

200 m butterfly, men
1. Noah Ponti (Switzerland) – 1.50.17
2. Krzysztof Chmielewski (Poland) – 1.50.24
3. Michal Chmielewski (Poland) – 1.50,30
…9. Ihor Troyanovskyi (Ukraine) – 1.53.15 NR
…14. Denys Kesil (Ukraine) – 1.54.31 (in swimming – 1.54.00)
…29. Georgy Lukashev (Ukraine) – 1.57.76

For the first time in his career, 21-year-old Volodymyr Lisovets managed to make it to the semifinals of the European Championship in the 50-meter breaststroke. In the qualification, his time of 26.55 seconds was 18th, but since no more than two swimmers from one country can enter the semi-finals, two representatives of Italy were eliminated and a place became available for the Ukrainian. In the semi-final swim, Lisovets set a personal record – 26.30. He lacked eight hundredths of a second to reach the final.

On the other hand, Stepan Babenko’s personal record was not enough to reach the semi-finals. After swimming for the first time from 27 seconds (26.93), the 20-year-old Ukrainian became 28th.

And the 50-meter breaststroke was won by the one from whom this victory was most expected – the 22-year-old reigning world champion in the Olympic-standard pool at this distance, Simone Cerasuolo from Italy.

50 m breaststroke, men
1. Simone Cerasuolo (Italy) – 25.67
2. Husein Emre Sakci (Turkey) – 25.85
3. Niccolo Martinegni (Italy) – 25.86
…11. Volodymyr Lisovets (Ukraine) – 26.30
…28. Stepan Babenko (Ukraine) – 26.93
…42. Maksym Ovchinnikov (Ukraine) – 27.40

Estonian Ralf Tribuntsov, born in Danish Silkeborg, became European champion for the first time at the age of 31, winning the 50-meter backstroke.

50 on the back, men
1. Ralf Tribuntsov (Estonia) – 22.68
2. Myroslav Knedla (Czech Republic) – 22.69
3. Francesco Lazzari (Italy) – 22.76
…41. Vadym Naumenko (Ukraine) – 25.17

The third gold for Estonia and the second for herself in Lublin was won by Eneli Yefimova in the same 50-meter breaststroke. 18-year-old Eneli became a three-time European champion in total, ahead of world record holder Ruta Meilutite from Lithuania. Yefimova’s winning time – 28.81 seconds – is a new championship record. The Italian Benedetta Pilato set the previous achievement two years ago in Otopeni.

50 m breaststroke, women
1. Eneli Yefimova (Estonia) – 28.81 CR
2. Ruta Meilutite (Lithuania) – 29.22
3. Florin Gaspar (Belgium) – 29.34

Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen won her fourth gold medal of this championship in the 200-meter individual medley. And once again renewing the European and tournament records, which for a long time belonged to the Hungarian Katinka Goss. Covering the distance in 2.01.83, Marrit improved the continental record set in 2014 by three hundredths of a second, and the championship record set in Netanya-2015 by seven tenths.

200 m complex, women
1. Marrit Steenbergen (Netherlands) – 2.01.83 ER, CR
2. Ellen Welsh (Ireland) – 2.04.78
3. Anastasia Horbenko (Israel) – 2.04.78

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Marrit Stenbergen Stenbegen won the fifth gold in royal sprint. In the classic Lublin format for me – with tournament and continent records, which are equal to 50.42 seconds from now on. Since 2017, the European record belonged to the Swede Sarah Sjöström, the championship record – to the legendary compatriot Marrit Ranoma Kromovidjoyo.

100 m freestyle, women
1. Marrit Steenbergen (Netherlands) – 50.42 ER, CR
2. Beryl Gastaldeio (France) – 50.60
3. Sarah Curtis (Italy) – 51.26

Stenbergen won the sixth gold of this Euro and the eighth in her career in general in the final type of the program of this tournament – the combined relay.

Combined relay 4×50 m, women
1. The Netherlands (Marrit Steenbergen, Tessa Gilles, Maike De Waard, Valerie van Ron; in swimming – Britta Kohorst, Moulu van Wijk) – 1.42.83
2. Sweden (Hanna Rosvall, Sophie Hansson, Sara Yunevik, Louise Hansson; in swimming – Klara Thormalm) – 1.43.79
3. Italy (Constanza Cocconcelli, Irene Burato, Silvia Di Pietro, Sarah Curtis; in swimming – Anita Gastaldi) – 1.44.33

The 2024 world champion in the 200-meter backstroke, Hugo Gonzalez from Spain, won the first European gold in his career in Lublin, winning the 200-meter medley. Denys Kesil improved his personal record (1.57.45) in the qualification, but fell just short of reaching the semi-finals.

200 m complex, men
1. Hugo Gonzalez De Oliveira (Spain) – 1.51.39
2. Alberto Razzetti (Italy) – 1.52.05
3. Berke Saka (Turkey) – 1.52.25
…20. Denys Kesil (Ukraine) – 1.57.45
…26. Anton Denysenko (Ukraine) – 1.59.05

Hungarian Zalan Sarkany became the European champion for the first time in his career, ahead of the Irishman Daniel Wiffen, the current Olympic champion at this distance, by crawling in the 800-meter race. Daniel, who won gold in the 1,500 m freestyle in Lublin, was content with only bronze this time, leaving the Belgian Luca Envo ahead of him.

800 m freestyle, men
1. Zalan Sarkany (Hungary) – 7.26.84
2. Luca Envo (Belgium) – 7.28.03
3. Daniel Whiffen (Ireland) – 7.30.14

19-year-old Italian Sara Curtis, who already won gold in relays in Lublin, won her first individual gold medal at the European Championships, winning the 50-meter backstroke. Sarah’s championship time of 25.49 seconds is a new European and tournament record. The continental record set by the Dutchwoman Kira Toussaint stood for five years, and the record of the championships was broken by another representative of the Netherlands, Marrit Steenbergen, already at this tournament, in the qualifying swim. However, Marrit refused to participate in the semi-finals due to excessive workload at other distances.

50 m backstroke, women
1. Sara Curtis (Italy) – 25.49 ER, CR
2. Analia Pigret (France) – 25.96
3. Maike De Waard (Netherlands) – 25.97

Sarah Curtis As among the men, there was no bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle and among the women. Here, too, the Frenchwoman Beryl Gastaldeio and the Italian Sarah Curtis shared the silver, showing an identical time. And 33-year-old Pole Katarzyna Wasik won the first personal gold of swimming majors in her career. So far, she was once the European champion in the relay in Glasgow-2019.

50 m freestyle, women
1. Katarzyna Wasik (Poland) – 23.20
2. Beryl Gastaldeio (France) – 23.41
2. Sara Curtis (Italy) – 23.41

21-year-old Yustyna Kozan brought another gold for Poland in the 400-meter medley.

400 m complex, women
1. Justyna Kozan (Poland) – 4.28.56
2. Alba Vasquez (Spain) – 4.29.57
3. Emma Carrasco (Spain) – 4.31.27

24-year-old Irishwoman Ellen Welsh became the winner of the adult European Championship for the first time in her career, winning the 200-meter butterfly.

200 m butterfly, women
1. Ellen Welsh (Ireland) – 2.03.24
2. Helena Bach (Denmark) – 2.03.55
3. Anita Gastaldi (Italy) – 2.04.07

Italian Simona Quadarella won the gold of the European Championships in short water for the third time in her career, ahead of the nearest pursuer in the final of 1500 m crawl by 17.07 seconds. Simona is also an eight-time European champion and a three-time world champion in Olympic-standard swimming pools.

1500 m freestyle, women
1. Simona Quadarella (Italy) – 15.29.93
2. Maya Werner (Germany) – 15.47.00
3. Aina Keseli (Hungary) – 15.51.73

No less impressive was the advantage in the 400-meter race by another Italian, Alberto Razzetti. He won the third gold medal of the European Championships in short water in his career, ahead of the silver medalist by 4.46 seconds.

400 m complex, men
1. Alberto Razzetti (Italy) – 3.58.79
2. Max Litchfield (Great Britain) – 4.03.25
3. Cedric Bussing (Germany) – 4.03.51
…15. Georgy Lukashev (Ukraine) – 4.10.91

Oasport.it. Alberto Razzetti The final gold of this championship was also taken by Italy, winning the men’s combined relay. In general, the Italians won both men’s and both combined relays.

Combined relay 4×50 m, men
1. Italy (Francesco Lozzari, Simone Cerasuolo, Simone Stefani, Leonardo Deplano; in swimming – Lorenzo Mora, Ludovico Viberti, Michele Busa, Lorenzo Dzazzeri) – 1.30,49
2. France (Meven Tomac, Jeremy Delbois, Clément Secchi, Maxime Grusset; in swimming – Lucien Varnier, Yohan Ndoye-Brouard) – 1.30.99
3. Spain (Ivan Martinez, Carles Call, Hugo Gonzalez De Oliveira, Sergio De Celis; in swimming – Eudald Tarrats) – 1.31.84

Thanks to a brilliant performance on the final day of competition, Italy moved ahead of the Netherlands (read Marrit Steenbergen) in the overall medal tally. In general, the medals of this Euro were won by representatives of 21 countries, in particular – Ukraine. Nikita Sheremet’s silver medal was the 102nd award of our country at the continental championships in short water. Throughout history, Ukrainians have won 39 gold, 33 silver and 30 bronze awards.

Final medal tally of the European Championship-2025

Marrit Stenbergen, having won a total of eight medals (6 gold – 1 silver – 1 bronze), became the main multi-medalist of this European Championship. Italian Sarah Curtis takes home seven awards – 3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze. Frenchman Maxim Grousse won six medals – 2 gold, 3 silver and bronze. Maike De Waard from the Netherlands won five awards – 2 gold, 2 silver and bronze.

During this European Championship, one world record was broken – by Italy in the mixed 4×50 m freestyle relay. Also, eight European records did not stand, five of which were surpassed by Marrit Stenbergen. 17 European championship records have been set. Of the seven broken junior world records, two were authored by our Nikita Sheremet.