The European Aquatics Junior Diving Championships arrive in Budapest next week, with competition running from 22–28 June at the spectacular Duna Arena – one of the finest aquatic venues in the world and a familiar stage for the sport’s biggest moments, having hosted World Championships in 2017 and 2022 as well as the European Championships in 2021. Hungary last staged these championships back in 2009, but it is the first time junior divers will compete at the iconic venue.
Ukraine will be heading into the competition with a strong sense of optimism. They took the team trophy in Athens last year with six gold, three silver and three bronze medals, which put them solidly ahead of the chasing pack. Their dominance has been a theme running through recent editions of these championships, and their entry list for Budapest suggests they will be a force again.
Kseniia Bochek, who with Diana Karnafel won senior European gold in Antalya last year, returns and is entered across the 1m springboard, 3m springboard and synchro events. Other Ukrainian names to watch include Valerii Malieiev, Dmytro Stepanov and Sofiia Vystavkina in the platform events, a depth of talent that keeps Ukraine firmly in contention for another team trophy.
Viktoriia Kazantseva and Nadezhda Trifonova are entered across the A category 3m springboard and synchro events for what looks to be a strong Russian team, while Aleksandra Kedrina lines up in both platform and synchro.
On the boys’ side, Matvei Pomoshnikov and Ivan Sautin are entered in the A category 3m springboard and synchro platform, and Egor Dmitriev and Miroslav Kiselev bring depth to the B category platform and springboard. Russia could well be the most significant new force in the medal table this week, and their overall team strength across both categories makes them a genuine contender.
Germany’s squad remains formidable and their challenge could again come from Finn Awe, who won world junior gold in the Boys’ 1m and 3m springboard events in 2024. Now competing in the A category and facing older rivals, the question is whether that talent translates at this level.
He is entered in both the 1m and 3m springboard and in the Boys Synchro Springboard, and his rivalry with Ukraine’s Stepanov and Malieiev – and potentially Russia’s Pomoshnikov and Sautin – promises to be one of the stories of the week. Teammates Louis Aaron Förster and Linus Noah Schwarz add further firepower to what is again one of the strongest national squads in the field.
Italy arrive with genuine podium ambitions across multiple events. Raffaele Pelligra and Flavio Cappelli are entered across platform and springboard, while the girls’ squad, which includes Viola Bellato, Marianna Cannone and Giorgia Tasca, will be pushing hard in the springboard and synchro events.
Great Britain bring a sizeable team and will be hoping to challenge across the board. Oscar Kane and Luke Raggett are entered in both 1m and 3m A category springboard, while Archie Biggins and Jorden Fisher-Eames line up in the A Platform and also contest the Boys Synchro Platform together.
On the girls’ side, Amelie Underwood is entered across 1m, 3m and synchro events, and there is genuine depth from Isabelle Diacon, Jameelah Eakin, Corin Burrows Mackley and Juliette John across the platform and synchro disciplines.
The hosts will have passionate support from the Budapest crowd, and their entries are competitive. Daniel Abay, Peter Andras Szabo and Adam Koos line up for the boys, while Anni Dorottya Szabó and Cathleen Kim Bora carry the girls’ hopes across springboard and platform. The twins Franciska and Johanna Both are a remarkable story in the B category, and home gold at any point across the seven days would be a memorable moment for the crowd.
Among the younger B category athletes, born 2011 and 2012, there is also plenty to look forward to. Spain’s Matías Tolchinsky Uribesalgo and Gorka Diez de Zulueta are entered across multiple events, as is Poland’s Gabriel Elżanowski and the Netherlands’ Nimaro Grassére, who competes in 1m, 3m and platform. These names, amongst others, will be ones to watch going forward.
The European Aquatics Junior Diving Championships Hungary 2026 gets underway on Monday 22 June with the Mixed Team Event Final at 16:00, followed immediately by the Opening Ceremony, making for a spectacular curtain-raiser.
Seven days of action then run through to Sunday 28 June, concluding with the A 3m Girls Final and A Platform Boys Final.
Click here to watch all of the action on EuroAquaticsTV.
Click here to access the event page, which includes live start lists and results.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
