5 Overhadowed Swimmers Whose Summers Did Not Get Proper Credit; Gabriel Jett Soars to New Heights (Men’s Edition)
Did you hear? Johannes Liebmann shattered the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle by three-plus seconds. Get this. Hubert Kos almost took down the longstanding world standard of Aaron Peirsol in the 200 backstroke. Phew, Sam Short went out in style. He just broke Grant Hackett’s 25-year-old Australian record in the 1500 freestyle. These highlights were just a sample of the recent deckside chatter in the sport.
It’s been quite a month in the pool, the Commonwealth Games hitting leadoff for a summer of speed. South African Pieter Coetze was dominant in Glasgow, his latest backstroke excellence on display. From there, the European Championships and Pan Pacific Championships produced their share of elite performances. It wasn’t a surprise that Romanian David Popovici and American Luke Hobson delivered some of the top performances.
But beyond the highest-profile names, there were plenty of individuals who made a mark on 2026, and will carry momentum into the last quarter of the year. Here are five men who enjoyed strong summers, but might not have gotten the credit they deserved.
Simone Cerasuolo (Italy)
Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The medals ceremony for the 50 breaststroke at the European Championships had Italian Nicolo Martinenghi on the top step of the podium, with countryman Simone Cerasuolo and Dutchman Koen de Groot sharing the silver medal. The reigning world champion in the 50 breast, Cerasuolo was actually at his best during the early rounds, where he posted two of the fastest times in history.
Although Cerasuolo turned in a solid 26.62 in the final, he was obviously in better form during the prelims (26.20) and semifinals (26.23). His time in the prelims moved Cerasuolo into a tie for second on the all-time performer list, alongside China’s Qin Haiyang. For good measure, Cerasuolo was the bronze medalist at Euros in the 100 breaststroke, where he touched in 58.90 out of Lane Eight.
Benjamin Goedemans (Australia)
Distance freestyle has long been treasured by Australia, and the latest crop from Down Under is doing its part in maintaining the country’s tradition. While Sam Short has emerged as the go-to guy for the Dolphins, Benjamin Goedemans put together several impressive performances between the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships, outings that indicate he could be a factor for years to come.
Part of the high-powered program at St. Peters Western, Goedemans was a triple medalist at Commonwealths, bronze medals in the 400 freestyle (3:45.57) and 1500 freestyle (14:49.50) accompanying a silver medal in the 800 free (7:46.49). A couple of weeks latr, Goedemans notched a career-best time in the 800 freestyle at Pan Pacs, going 7:44.67 for the bronze medal.
Gabriel Jett (United States)
On the opening day of Pan Pacs, Gabriel Jett immediately made his presence known. After navigating the American gauntlet in prelims of the 200 freestyle, Jett produced the finest swim of his career at night. In the final of the four-lap event, Jett lopped nearly a second off his prior best, clocking 1:43.96 for the silver medal behind Luke Hobson (1:43.85). In the process, Jett became one of only eight men to ever break the 1:44 barrier.
But Jett wasn’t done showing off his talent in the 200 freestyle. With the United States pressured by Australia in the 800 freestyle relay, the Cal-Berkeley standout anchored the Americans home in 1:44.09. The leg was punctuated with a massive underwater off the final turn that ensured Team USA’s gold.
Zalan Sarkany (Hungary)
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Because Germany’s Johannes Liebmann put on a distance tutorial at the European Championships, highlighted by a world record in the 1500 freestyle, it was easy to overlook other strong showings in Paris. One of the athletes overshadowed by Liebmann’s exploits was Hungarian Zalan Sarkany, a two-time NCAA champion in the 1650-yard freestyle (once each with Arizona State and Indiana).
Sarkany set a pair of national records at Euros, behind a mark of 7:41.75 in the 800 freestyle and a swim of 14:39.45 in the 1500 freestyle. Sarkany was the bronze medalist over the shorter distance and the silver medalist in the longer event, marking the second straight time he has medaled in both events at the European Champs. Two years ago in Belgrade, Sarkany was a double bronze medalist. Sarkany’s times in the French capital tell the story of an athlete on the rise, as he dropped seven seconds from his previous best in the 800 free and eight seconds in the 1500 free.
Aaron Shackell (United States)
After reaching the final of the 400 freestyle at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Aaron Shackell fell short of qualifying for last summer’s World Championships in Singapore. But that absence from international competition was brief, as the Indiana native earned a spot at the just concluded Pan Pacific Championships. In a big way, Shackell flourished at the meet in Southern California.
In the 400 freestyle, the Indiana University swimmer registered a career-best time of 3:43.44 to claim the bronze medal and come within striking distance of the American record, the 3:42.78 produced by Larsen Jensen at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. More, Shackell went a best of 1:45.19 in the 200 freestyle and played a major role on the United States’ winning 800 freestyle relay, where he ripped a second-leg split of 1:44.23.