Relays pivotal at European Aquatics Junior and U23 swimming championships

[Article images courtesy of European Aquatics]

Europe’s most talented next generation of swimmers gathered in Samorin, Slovakia for the European Aquatics U23 and Junior Swimming Championships across back-to-back weeks this summer.

The junior’s event programme provided a plethora of highlights with relays at the forefront of European medal tablet-topping meet.

Gold in both the Mixed and Men’s 4x100m Medley events epitomised a brilliant coming together of the team with Dean Fearn and Filip Nowacki involved in both finals around their own individual gold medal successes – with those results wonderfully underpinned by the fantastic support of relay alternates in the qualifying heats.

Silver in the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle, in addition to bronzes in both the Men’s 4x100m Freestyle and Women’s 4x200m Freestyle displayed further evidence of the team first mentality, and a great opportunity for Britain’s leading juniors to learn and develop furthering their performance potential.

Nowacki was equally one of the stand-out individuals and showed a marked progress from his performances at April’s Aquatics GB Championships – clocking a Men’s 200m Breaststroke European Junior record of 2:08.32 for gold in the event, whilst doubling up for the 100m title and securing 50m silver.

Championship records were also set by Amalie Smith and Dean Fearn – with the former going 4:37.02 in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley before later in the week claiming a second European Junior title of the meet in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley event. Fearn set his 23.29 record mark in the Men’s 50 Butterfly, whilst also getting on the podium individually for the Men’s 100m Butterfly event in silver.

Amelie Blocksidge and Blythe Kinsman provided Great Britain’s further golden moments on the continental junior stage – with Blocksidge defending 2024 Women’s 1500m title, and Kinsman sprinting to touch first for a win in the Women’s 50m Backstroke in addition to having led off the aforementioned Mixed 4x100m Medley triumph.

[In total Great British athletes won 19 medals at the European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships with full roll of honour listed further down the page and extended results on the championships website.]

The U23’s action the preceding week had provided no less excitement, with coming events thick and fast in a condensed three-day meet format.

Both of Great Britain’s gold came in backstroke events – with Paris 2024 Olympic finalist Honey Osrin racing to a Women’s 200m Backstroke, while Jack Skerry topped a Men’s 100m Backstroke podium which also feature teammate Matthew Ward.

Osrin also provided the lead off leg for Great Britain’s silver medal Mixed 4x100m Medley quartet in the heats - with the finals quartet of Ward, Rory Dickson, Lucy Grieve and Evelyn Davis – touched out from top spot by just 0.02 seconds as the curtain came down on the first night of the championships.

That was Grieve’s second trip to the podium having secured an individual bronze in the Women’s 100m Butterfly, while further British U23 multi-medallists in Samorin included Charlie Hutchison who added Men’s 400m Individual Medley silver to his day one bronze in the Men’s 200m Freestyle, and Charlie Brooker who rounded out the Men’s 200m Backstroke podium before setting Great Britain Mixed 4x100m Freestyle relay on course to a bronze medal.

[In total Great British athletes won 11 medals at the European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships with full roll of honour below and extended results on the championships website.]

European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships medallists

Gold

Great Britain (Blythe Kinsman, Filip Nowacki, Dean Fearn, Theodora Taylor, Daniel Ransom, Joshua Inglis, Skye Carter) – Mixed 4x100m Medley

Great Britain (Dean Fearn, Filip Nowacki, Jack Brown, Gabriel Shepherd, Daniel Ransom, Joshua Inglis, Harry Milne) – Men’s 4x100m Medley

Amelie Blocksidge – Women’s 1500m Freestyle

Dean Fearn – Men’s 50m Butterfly

Blythe Kinsman – Women’s 50m Backstroke

Filip Nowacki – Men’s 100m Breaststroke and Men’s 200m Breaststroke

Amalie Smith – Women’s 200m Individual Medley and Women’s 400m Individual Medley

Silver

Great Britain (Harry Milne, Gabriel Shepherd, Skye Carter, Theodora Taylor, Hannah Capron, Annabelle Compton) – Mixed 4x100m Freestyle

Dean Fearn – Men’s 100m Butterfly

Filip Nowacki – Men’s 50m Breaststroke

Edith Price – Women’s 200m Butterfly

Theodora Taylor – Women’s 50m Freestyle

Bronze

Great Britain (Gabriel Shepherd, Jack Brown, Harry Milne, Rio Daodu) – Men’s 4x100m Freestyle

Great Britain (Phoebe Cooper, Annabelle Compton, Hollie Wilson, Amalie Smith) – Women’s 4x200m Freestyle

Amelie Blocksidge – Women’s 800m Freestyle

Blythe Kinsman – Women’s 100m Backstroke

Theodora Taylor – Women’s 100m Breaststroke

European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships medallists

Gold

Honey Osrin – Women’s 200m Backstroke

Jack Skerry – Men’s 100m Backstroke

Silver

Great Britain (Matthew Ward, Rory Dickson, Lucy Grieve, Evelyn Davis, Honey Osrin, Alexander Cohoon) – Mixed 4x100m Medley

Charlie Hutchison – Men’s 400m Individual Medley

Tyler Melbourne-Smith – Men’s 400m Freestyle

Bronze

Great Britain (Alexander Cohoon, Cameron Brooker, Erin Little, Evelyn Davis, Alexander Painter) – Mixed 4x100m Freestyle

Cameron Brooker – Men’s 200m Backstroke

Lucy Grieve – Women’s 100m Butterfly

Charlie Hutchison – Men’s 200m Freestyle

Darcey Revitt – Women’s 50m Freestyle

Matthew Ward – Men’s 100m Backstroke