The final days of the European Aquatics Masters Championships delivered a fitting conclusion to almost two weeks of competition, with diving reaching its climax in Graz, open water swimmers completing their programme in Samorín and Masters water polo producing a full slate of finals.
Across the three disciplines, athletes from across Europe continued to demonstrate the breadth, competitiveness and enduring appeal of Masters aquatics, with competitors spanning generations and nationalities in pursuit of European titles.
The final two days of diving in Graz saw the competition move through the older age groups before concluding with a busy programme of individual and synchronised events.
Friday’s platform programme featured champions from the 40-44 through to 85-89 age groups.
Among the highlights was Sweden’s Olle Strombeck, who claimed the men’s 55-59 platform title with 243.70 points, finishing 24.55 points clear of Norway’s Rokas Sermuksnis. Germany’s Erik Seibt produced another strong performance to win the men’s 50-54 competition with 220.10 points.
Austria’s Luis Mario Olave Lopez was a convincing winner in the men’s 65-69 category, scoring 207.70 points, while Petr Jirku of Czechia took the 70-74 title and Yal Bashtbavi of the Netherlands won the 75-79 competition.
The oldest men’s category on the programme also produced a winner, with Austria’s Ekkehard Kubasta taking the 85-89 title with 115.10 points.
The women’s platform competitions saw Germany’s Kerstin Happke take gold in the 55-59 category with 201.35 points, while Irina Leontevskaia of NAB won the 50-54 title with 219.25.
Mariana Fiedler added a Hungarian victory in the 65-69 category, scoring 185.65, while Martha Cruz-Lesbros of France took the 60-64 title with 186.75. In the 45-49 category, Germany’s Manuela Pach claimed gold with 196.10, while Sweden’s Karin Sunnanbo topped the 40-44 standings with 186.75.
Saturday brought the final individual platform contests before the focus turned to synchronised diving.
Italy’s Selina Anna Flav Biacchi produced one of the day’s leading performances, winning the women’s 35-39 platform title with 209.40 points. Germany’s Antonia Pawlowski took the 30-34 crown with 223.80, while Denmark’s Ane Naur Jensen won the 25-29 competition with 187.10.
In the men’s competition, Great Britain’s Phil Bowers edged Finland’s Aatu Keranen to the 35-39 title, scoring 235.70 points to Keranen’s 232.65. Belgium’s Dries Laukens won the 30-34 category with 223.00, while Czechia’s Daniel Ponizil took the 25-29 title after scoring 190.80.
The final afternoon then belonged to synchro, with Germany’s Erik Seibt and Bernadett Schroder combined for victory in the women’s 100+ category with 176.91 points, while Great Britain’s Phil Bowers and Iain St John won the men’s 40-99 competition with 165.24.
The mixed synchro events provided a final opportunity for divers to share the platform, with Seibt and Schroder again among the winners, taking the 100+ title with 176.91 points. Finland’s Aatu Keranen and Suvi Utriainen won the 40-99 competition with 159.78 to bring six days of diving to a close.
The open water swimming programme concluded with the 3km race at Samorín on 28 August, providing another demanding test for Masters swimmers across 16 age and gender waves, which also formed the final part of the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Masters Tour 2026, following the previous legs in Protaras and Sukoro.
The race produced winners from 20-24 through to 85-89 in the men’s competition, with Spain, Italy, Czechia, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland among the nations represented at the top of the standings.
Czechia’s Matej Kozubek was the fastest men’s winner, taking the 30-34 title in 32:06.00, while Italy’s Davis Panieri won the 25-29 category in 33:49.09. Steven Claes of Belgium claimed the 35-39 crown in 34:11.73 and Nicola Nisato of Italy took gold in the 45-49 category in 34:27.17.
Further up the age groups, France’s Sylvain Gleizes won the 50-54 category, Czechia’s Pavel Patak the 55-59, and France’s Benoit-Marie Vassent the 60-64. Spain’s Enrique Mata Diaz won the 65-69 category, while Great Britain’s Andrew Huckle and Germany’s Helmut Hertelendy took the 70-74 and 75-79 titles respectively.
The oldest men’s category went to Switzerland’s Kurt Frei, who won the 80-84 race in 51:27.72, while Great Britain’s Michael Read completed the men’s age-group winners in the 85-89 category.
The women’s races provided an equally international spread, with Germany enjoying a particularly strong showing, with Leonie Glasewald, Alisa Fatum-Boker, Jenny Wachsmuth and Carla Beckmann all taking age-group victories. Turkey’s Hilal Zeyneb Sarac won the 25-29 category, while Italy’s Valentina Lugano claimed the 45-49 title.
Spain’s Soraya Perez won the 50-54 race and France’s Christelle Lair the 55-59, with Ireland represented by victories for Norma Cahill in the 60-64 and Dymphna Morris in the 65-69 categories. Sweden’s Kerstin Tunzi and Margareta Rainer completed the women’s winners in the 70-74 and 75-79 age groups.
An emotional water polo tournament provided a fitting conclusion to the Championships.
The final day on 30 August featured title matches across a wide range of age groups, from the younger Masters categories through to the 75+ competition.
The men’s titles were spread across a broad selection of European water polo nations.
Croatia’s Dubrovnik Masters 40 won the 40+ title, Hungary’s Hun. Bull’s Blood 45 took the 45+ crown and Montenegro’s Primorac Veterani 50 were victorious in the 50+ category.
Germany enjoyed two men’s victories, with Wfr. Spandau 05 taking the 55+ title and Düsseldorfer SC winning the 70+ competition. Spain’s Real Canoe claimed the 60+ crown, Italy’s Europa Sporting Roma won the 65+ title and Slovakia’s H2O Polo Piestany took the 75+ championship.
The women’s competition produced three further champions. Hungary’s Bekafutty-Kling won the 30+ title, Hungarian Women’s WP took the 40+ crown and Germany’s SGW Essen 50+ claimed the 50+ championship.
The men’s 55+ final provided one of the day’s notable contests, with Spandau 05 overcoming Hungary’s BVSC-Zuglo 55+ 9-6. The German side led 2-1 after the opening quarter and 5-2 at half-time, before BVSC-Zuglo reduced the deficit to 7-6 heading into the final period. Spandau then held firm to close out the championship with a 9-6 victory.
The final results underlined the international nature of the tournament. Men’s gold medals were shared between Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Germany, Spain, Italy and Slovakia, while Germany and Hungary also featured prominently in the women’s competition.
As the final whistles sounded and the last dives were completed, the competition came to an end with the same spirit that had defined the Championships from the opening day, with camaraderie and good spirited competition appearing in spades as a whirlwind month for European Aquatics came to a close.
Click here for the results from the competition.
Click here to re-watch all of the action on EuroAquaticsTV.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
