The swimming programme gets under way at the 35th LEN European Championships<\/strong> on Monday with 26 defending champions among 726 athletes competing in Budapest.<\/p>\n

Adam Peaty, Federica Pellegrini, Katinka Hosszu<\/strong> and Kristof Milak<\/strong> are among several big names who will take their places on the blocks although there will be no pool match-up between Gregorio Paltrinieri<\/strong> and Florian Wellbrock<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Paltrinieri already has three golds to his name following the open water programme but Wellbrock, the world 1500m champion, is not competing in the pool this coming week.<\/p>\n

$\"federica-pellegrini-centurions\"$
Federica Pellegrini: Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu \/ ISL<\/p><\/div>\n
Also absent is Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong>, who won her first European gold in the 100 fly aged 14 in Eindhoven in 2008 and has 14 titles over six championships.<\/p>\n
The Swede is currently recovering after a broken elbow sustained as she fell on ice in February required surgery.<\/a><\/p>\n
A name that always conjures debate is that of Yulia Efimova<\/strong> and the Russian will compete at the Duna Arena in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, although she has only qualified in the former for Tokyo 2021.<\/p>\n
The seven-day competition at the Duna Arena is the first large-scale international swimming meet after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the world from early 2020.<\/p>\n
The meet, involving a record 51 national federations, was due to take place 12 months ago before being postponed and will go ahead without spectators.<\/p>\n
A total of 43 events will be contested – including the mixed 4x200m freestyle relay which is only held at European Championships – offering an opportunity for the first long-course racing at this level since the 2019 World Championships<\/strong> in Gwangju.<\/p>\n
$\"Mil\u00e1k$
Kristof Milak: Photo Courtesy: Hungarian Swimming Federation<\/p><\/div>\n
So too will it give the athletes – 315 men and 411 women – a chance to experience an extended meet with the Tokyo Olympics little more than nine weeks hence.<\/p>\n
It also offers an opportunity for countries to qualify relay teams for the Games.<\/p>\n
The top 12 nations at the 2019 World Championships automatically qualified a relay team and with 16 slots available per relay, it means four positions are still available before the qualification period ends on 31 May.<\/p>\n
The women’s 400IM opens proceedings with Hosszu looking to add to the three titles she has already claimed.<\/p>\n
The Olympic champion didn’t contest the event at the last Europeans in Glasgow where Fantine Lesaffre<\/strong> won gold but the Frenchwoman doesn’t line up on Monday.<\/p>\n
Britain’s Aimee Willmott<\/strong>, en-route to her third Olympics, is second in the entry lists.<\/p>\n
$\"katinka-hosszu-iron\"$
Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu \/ ISL<\/p><\/div>\n
The stand-out race of the morning is the men’s 100 breaststroke which features the five fastest men in history in Adam Peaty, Arno Kamminga, Ilya Shymanovich, Nicolo Martinenghi<\/strong> and James Wilby<\/strong>, who stands joint fifth-fastest with Cameron van der Burgh.<\/p>\n
Peaty lines up in the seventh and final heat alongside Martinenghi.<\/p>\n
Gabriele Detti<\/strong> and Danys Rapsys<\/strong> meet in the 400 free while Kliment Kolesnikov<\/strong> gets his campaign under way in the 50 back in which he set the world record of 24.00 at Glasgow 2018.<\/p>\n
There’ll be new champions in the 50 free and 100 fly given Sjostrom’s absence while Simona Quadarella<\/strong> spearheads the 800 free in which she is the world silver medallist.<\/p>\n
The men’s and women’s 4×100 freestyle relays will all take to the water on Monday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Advertising: Shop At Swim360
\n