European Juniors, Day 6 Finals: Luca Hoek Repeats as Champion of 100 Freestyle
The final day of the European Junior Championships in Munich is packed with 12 finals, with the girls’ 200-meter individual medley and boys’ 100 backstroke leading off the program. The competition will conclude with finals in the 400 medley relay. In the boys’ 100 backstroke, France’s Nathan Muratory will look to move up from last year’s bronze-medal finish. Earlier in the week, Muratory set a championship record in the 200 backstroke.
Here is a recap of the Night Six action:
- Results
- Day 1 Prelims Wrap
- Day 1 Finals Wrap
- Day 2 Prelims Wrap
- Day 2 Finals Wrap
- Day 3 Prelims Wrap
- Day 3 Finals Wrap
- Day 4 Prelims Wrap
- Day 4 Finals Wrap
- Day 5 Prelims Wrap
- Day 5 Finals Wrap
- Day 6 Prelims
Spain’s Luca Hoek Repeats in 100 Freestyle
Edged in the final of the 50 freestyle, Spain’s Luca Hoek got the job done at twice the distance, as he rallied during the back half of the race to win the 100 freestyle. Hoek, the Spanish record-holder in the event, clocked a time of 48.18, that swim enough to defeat Neutral Athlete Egor Proshin (48.49) and Lithuania’s Tajus Juska (48.67).
At the turn, Hoek faced a deficit to Proshin, with the Russian athlete leading, 22.88 to 22.93. But Hoek had greater stamina and was able to pull away down the stretch. Hoek capped his victory with a split of 25.25, compared to the 22.61 of Proshin. Earlier in the week, Hoek was the runnerup in the 50 freestyle to the Czech Republic’s Jan Foltyn. At last year’s meet, Hoek went 48.25 to win the 100 freestyle, with Juska in the silver-medal position.
As for Foltyn, he collected a second championship when he beat the field in the 50 butterfly. Foltyn grabbed the win in 23.45, with defending titlist Dean Fearn of Great Britain going 23.63 for the bronze medal. In between for the silver medal was Hungarian David Antal in 23.59.
Evangelos Ntoumas Claims 100 Breaststroke Crown
A year ago, Greece’s Evangelos Ntoumas was the silver medalist in the boys’ 100 breaststroke at the European Junior Champs, finishing behind British star Filip Nowacki. On Sunday, Ntoumas moved up a step on the podium, as he was the lone athlete in the field to break the one-minute barrier. The silver medal went to Germany’s Louis Hoffmann in 1:00.29, while Great Britain’s Max Morgan was the bronze medalist in 1:00.41.
Ntoumas was fourth at the turn, splitting 28.38, but no one could match his closing speed, as the rising Greek star covered the last length in 31.53. That split was .67 faster than Hoffmann and more than a second quicker than Morgan, who was in front at the halfway mark.
Grigorii Vekovishchev Blasts Big 400 Freestyle
Coming off a win in the 800 freestyle on Saturday, Neutral Athlete Grigorii Vekovishchev put up a huge performance for victory in the 400 freestyle. Vekovishchev touched the wall in 3:44.58, which was good for a three-second decision over silver medalist Oliver Papai of Hungary, who went 3:47.88. Austrian Christian Giefing was third in 3:47.92.
Vekovishchev defended his crown from last year, but was significantly faster than the 3:48.71 that was good for his 2025 triumph.
Mikhail Shcherbakov generated immediate momentum for the Neutral Athletes in the first boys’ event of the day. The Russian prevailed by the narrowest margins to win the 100 backstroke, his mark of 53.99 clipping the 54.00 of France’s Nathan Muratory. The bronze medal went to Frenchman Chrissander Cerda (54.52).
Shcherbakov was second at the turn, but the key to his race was the finish, as the youngster fended off the hard-charging Muratory, who claimed the gold medal in the 200 backstroke earlier in the week. Shcherbakov delivered splits of 26.29 and 27.70, while Muratory was 26.44 for his outgoing lap and came home in 27.56.
There was a reversal of the gold-silver allocation from last year in the girls’ 400 freestyle, as Neutral Athletes Kseniia Misharina (4:05.54) and Sofia Diakova (4:06.86) grabbed the top spots. Misharina set a championship record and the bronze medal went to Germany’s Linda Roth in 4:08.20.
Sofia Anufrieva added a title for the Neutral Athletes in the girls’ 100 breaststroke, where she was timed in 1:08.10, easily ahead of the 1:08.88 of Switzerland’s Kay-Lyn Lohr for the silver medal. The Neutral Athletes also won the girls’ 400 medley relay in a championship-record tying 4:01.83. The team consisted of Varvara Filippova, Anufrieva, Serafima Fokina and Kira Manokhina.
In Other Action …
Italy’s foursome of Gabriele di Scola (55.25), Gabriele Garzia (1:00.52), Francesco Ceolin (51.60) and Cristian Tassan-Caser (48.22) ended the meet in style. The Italian quartet went 3:35.59 to beat the Neutral Athletes, who were just behind in 3:35.61.
Poland’s Barbara Lesniewska cruised to victory in the girls’ 200 individual medley, as she posted a time of 2:12.45. That mark was well ahead of the Neutral Athletes duo of Viktoriia Tarannikova (2:14.10) and Anna Rzaeva (2:14.44). Meanwhile, Spain’s Irene Ciercoles Galve prevailed in the girls’ 100 backstroke, going 1:00.06 for a tight win over Romania’s Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu (1:00.11).
Andreanne Bourseul wasn’t quite as quick as the semifinals, when she set a championship record, but the French standout locked up the girls’ 50 butterfly title in dominant fashion. Bourseul went 26.19, which was off her 26.03 from the day before, but faster than runnerup Carlota Rodriguez Alcaide (26.40). The bronze medal was earned by the Netherlands’ Jinth Engelse in 26.49.