Russia’s Anton Chupkov was the only man to break 2:08 in the men’s 200 breast prelims at the European Championships, and he was again the only man under 2:08 in the semi-finals. The World Champion followed up his 2:07.70 in prelims with a 2:07.95 in the semi-finals.
Italy’s Luca Pizzini, who led Chupkov for the first 150 meters of their semi-final heat, qualified second in 2:08.52, followed closely by a pair of swimmers from the first semi-final, Great Britain’s Ross Murdoch (2:08.57) and Russia’s Kirill Prigoda (2:08.63).
Great Britain’s James Wilby, the silver medalist in the 100 breast behind the great Adam Peaty, qualified fifth in 2:09.59, ahead of Sweden’s Erik Persson (2:09.84), the Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga (2:10.00) and Lithuania’s Andrius Sidlauskas (2:10.12).
