Amalie Smith wiped out her championship record as she made it back-to-back European junior 400IM titles before returning to anchor the Great Britain 4x100m freestyle relay to victory in a continental junior mark in Munich.
The Neutral Individual Athletes (AIN) men’s 4×100 free then lowered the world junior record they’d set in prelims to 3:12.75 as two men hit 47secs to bring the first finals session to a close at the pool built for the 1972 Olympics.
Vivien Jackl: Photo courtesy: European Aquatics
The 400IM was the first race of the evening with the Briton ahead at the first turn before Vivien Jackl took a 0.04 lead at the 100m mark, the Hungarian extending her advantage at halfway.
Smith’s second half is a strong tool in her armoury and she ate relentlessly into the lead, reducing it by 3.40secs down the first 50 of the breaststroke. By the time the 16-year-old had reached the 300m mark, she held a 2.18secs advantage and she came home for victory in 4:35.32.
It erased her previous championship mark of 4:37.02 from last year’s edition in Samorin and was the second-fastest of her career, 0.14 off her 4:35.18 PB from the AP International in May.
Jackl was second in 4:37.47 as she claimed her fifth straight medal in the event, four years after her bronze on her European juniors debut aged 13 at Otopeni 2022. Viktoriia Blinova, of the Individual Neutral Athletes team, took bronze in 4:45.78.
Relay Record Bonanza
Smith then returned for the penultimate event of the session. Emma Wood led off in 55.23 and handed over in second to Theodora Taylor who posted an eye-opening 53.42 – the fastest in the entire field – with the British quartet behind only the AIN at halfway. Hannah Capron (54.53) steered them into the lead with Smith’s 54.17 split anchoring them home in 3:37.35, a European junior record and championship mark. It was 3.45secs off the British record of 3:33.90 set at the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka as Smith made it two golds, a European junior record and two championship marks in one night.
AIN 4×100 Free Squad, 2026 European Jnrs: Photo Courtesy: European Aquatics/ Derencsényi István
Italy were second in 3:39.36 with the AIN team next home in 3:39.62.
That was followed by the men’s 4×1 relay which had seen the AIN set a 3:14.72 WJR in prelims, where they took 0.66 from the previous standard of 3:15.38 at last year’s World Junior Championships in Otopeni, also set by an AIN team.
Bogdan Toropkin led off in 49.21 to hand over in second behind Great Britain who led thanks to Aran Bissett’s 48.98. Egor Proshin steered the AIN into the lead with a 47.58 split before handing over to Matvei Miliaev (48.36) with Mikhail Shcherbakov’s 47.60 anchor bringing them home in 3:12.75. It matched the time Hungary finished in when coming sixth at last year’s World Championships in Singapore.
Italy were second in 3:15.46 with Great Britain third in 3:16.06 to make it two golds and a bronze from three races on the first evening of the six-day meet.
Semi-Finals
Grigorii Vekovishchev posted 1:46.59 in the men’s 200 free prelims and he returned to the pool that was built for the 1972 Olympic Games in the evening as top seed. There the AIN swimmer sped to 1:45.75, 0.49 off the championship record of 1:45.26 set by David Popovici at the 2021 edition in Rome. Defending champion Christian Giefing of Austria was 0.11 behind in 1:45.88 with Bogdan Toropkin (AIN) next through to the final in 1:46.63.
Ieva Jurkunaite of Lithuania took top spot in the women’s 200 free in 1:58.79 ahead of German pair Linda Roth (1:59.11) and Juliana Buttler (1:59.39). The 2025 champion Bianca Nannucci also progressed safely in fifth.
Jan Foltyn matched his Czech 50 breast record of 27.18 in prelims, a time that was also a championship mark. Max Morgan of Great Britain equalled that time in the first semi which was good enough for top seed and lane four ahead of Foltyn (27.41).
Sofia Anufrieva (AIN) was the only swimmer to break 31secs in the women’s event, clocking 30.95, well ahead of Belarus pair Alisa Belaya (31.52) and Valeriya Shylko (31.53).
Defending champion David Antal booked lane four for the 200 fly final, the Hungarian going 1:58.56. Mateo Gregoire-Charmasson of France will be in the adjacent lane after posting 1:59.26), 0.11 ahead of Italian Stefano Mogno (1:59.37).
Irene Ciercoles Galve headed the women’s 50 back in 27.97 ahead of 2025 champion Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu (28.11) with Artsion Yarmak booking lane four in the men’s event in 25.05 alongside Grigorii Chernogaev (25.14).