European Juniors, Day 3 Finals: Theodora Taylor Speeds to 50 Freestyle Crown
Through two sessions of finals at the European Junior Championships in Munich, the Neutral Athletes (Russia) have been impressive with a pair of world junior records. Following a WJR in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay on the opening day of the meet, the Neutral Athletes set a world junior mark in the mixed 400 freestyle relay during Wednesday night’s competition.
What will unfold on Night Three in Germany? Here is a recap of the action.
- Results
- Day 1 Prelims Wrap
- Day 1 Finals Wrap
- Day 2 Prelims Wrap
- Day 2 Finals Wrap
- Day 3 Prelims Wrap
Theodora Taylor Mines Gold in 50 Freestyle
One year after finishing as the runnerup in the 50-meter freestyle at the European Juniors in Samorin, Great Britain’s Theodora Taylor bumped up a step on the podium. Having already delivered a pair of strong relay performances during the meet, Taylor emerged victorious in the 50 free on Thursday. The rising British star clocked in at 24.82, which was .09 clear of the 24.91 from silver medalist Irene Ciercoles Galve of Spain.
Taylor is not a stranger to international competition, as she was the runnerup in the 50 freestyle at last year’s World Junior Championships in Otopeni, Romania. She was also the silver medalist in the event at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games and prevailed in the 50 free at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival.
A leadoff leg of 1:58.29 from Taylor handed her a bronze medal in the 800 freestyle relay, where Great Britain touched in 7:58.59. Taylor was followed by Hannah Capron (2:01.23), Evi Mackie (1:59.95) and Amalie Smith (1:59.12).
Mikhail Shcherbakov Rolls to 200 Medley Title
Mikhail Shcherbakov, the top seed heading into the final of the 200 individual medley, wasn’t quite as fast as he went in the semifinal, but the Neutral Athlete from Russia still comfortably bettered the field. Shcherbakov clocked a time of 1:58.12, which was off the 1:57.07 he went on Wednesday. Still, Shcherbakov easily finished ahead of silver medalist Emre Onus of Turkiye, who went 2:00.18.
Neutral athletes Kseniia Misharina (16:05.46) and Anna Arshavskaia (16:25.25) picked up the gold and bronze medals in the girls’ 1500 freestyle, with Hungarian Vivien Jackl (16:11.59) in between for the silver. In the boys’ version of the event, Poland’s Mikolaj Litoborski edged Spain’s Juan Vallmitjana Behrendt, 15:08.02 to 15:08.11.
Viktoriia Kariuk will have the chance to add to the Neutral Athletes’ medals collection in the final of the 200 breaststroke. Kariuk paced the semifinals in 2:26.21, with Switzerland’s Kay-Lyn Lohr following in 2:26.84.
Italy’s Caterina Santambrogio Golden in 100 Butterfly
The girls’ 100 butterfly featured a tight finish among the podium placers, with Italy’s Caterina Santambrogio getting to the wall first in 58.63. That time clipped the 58.67 of Serafima Fokina, a Neutral Athlete. Fokina had the lead at the midway point of the race, but Santambrogio charged through the field down the back half to rally from fifth place at the turn. The bronze medal went to Poland’s Barbara Lesniewska in 58.78.
Francesco Ceolin will try to make it an Italian sweep of the 100 butterfly when he races out of Lane Four in the final of the boys’ event. Ceolin recorded the fastest semifinal time, going 52.45, with Spain’s Joaquin Pavon Soto advancing as the second seed in 52.72.
The Italian girls won the 800 freestyle relay to close out the night, as Bianca Nannucci split 1:58.48 on the anchor leg to get her country to the wall in 7:56.26. That time topped the 7:57.34 of the Neutral Athletes and the 7:58.59 from Great Britain. Nannucci was joined for the gold medal by Alessandra Mao (1:58.25), Lucrezia Domina (1:59.05) and Alice Guarnieri (2:00.48).
In Semifinal Action…
The Netherlands’ Eva Rottink (2:11.98) and Hungary’s Fanni Kokas (2:12.08) grabbed the top-two slots for what promises to be a tight final in the girls’ 200 backstroke, as the first five times from the semifinals were separated by just .39. Meanwhile, the boys’ 50 freestyle saw the Czech Republic’s Jan Foltyn (22.03) earn the top seed ahead of Spain’s Luca Hoek (22.07).
In the boys’ 200 breaststroke, Turkiye’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu confirmed himself as the heavy favorite for the gold medal, as he went 2:09.89 to finish just shy of his national record of 2:09.62. Yogurtcuoglu qualified more than three seconds ahead of Greece’s Evangelos Ntoumas (2:13.17).
Poland’s Mateusz Bienkowski booked the No. 1 seed for the final of the boys’ 200 backstroke, thanks to a swim of 1:58.51. That mark was well ahead of the 1:59.87 of Germany’s Mitja Bauer.