Germany enjoyed a golden day at the European Aquatics Junior Diving Championships Hungary 2026 as Emily Deml successfully defended her girls A 1m springboard title before Finn Awe led a German one-two in the boys A 3m competition.
Following four days of already intense action at Budapest’s Duna Arena on the Danube, Deml delivered a composed and commanding performance to secure Germany’s second gold medal of the championships.
The reigning champion topped every round of the final, finishing with 445.35 points to take victory by more than 32 points over Russia’s Nadezhda Trifonova (412.85), while Ukraine’s Kseniia Bochek completed the podium on 390.70.
The 17-year-old held the lead throughout the contest, producing four consistently high-scoring dives in the final rounds. Her Reverse 1½ Somersaults Pike (303B) and Reverse 1½ Somersaults 1½ Twists Free (5333D) both earned over 60 points as she steadily pulled clear of the field and won by what was a comfortable margin in the end, which was a much more clear-cut affair than her close battle for victory last year in Athens.
“I’m proud of myself because I kind of expected me to do well, but I didn’t know how it would go also with my opponents,” said Deml. “So I knew I had good chances, but I was not sure. But I’m really proud that I did it again.
“The dives were pretty solid. I knew I can do them even better, but they were still pretty good and the grades were pretty good, so I’m pretty happy.”
Trifonova added another medal to Russia’s impressive tally in Budapest, claiming silver after sitting second throughout the final. The Russian diver admitted she felt more relaxed during the medal contest than earlier in the competition.
“I am happy. I love this pool. I love the atmosphere. I love junior competitions. I love everything,” she said.
“But there’s always a but, of course. I could have done better with my first five dives. I was kind of, I don’t know, closed up. But in finals, I’m really satisfied. I love being here. I love it.”
The afternoon session brought one of the most competitive contests of the championships so far as Germany’s Finn Awe and Louis Aaron Foerster battled for Boys A 3m gold.
Awe, who captured Germany’s first title of the week on day three, added a second individual crown with a total score of 544.85 points. However, the result was only settled in the final round after his compatriot Foerster had moved into the lead following the fourth dive.
Awe recovered with an excellent Forward 2½ Somersaults Two Twists Pike (5154B), scoring 76.50 points on his final dive to reclaim top spot and secure victory by just 4.85 points.
Foerster produced one of the performances of his career to earn silver on 540.00, while helping Germany complete a memorable one-two finish. Ukraine’s Valerii Malieiev fought back from tenth place after the opening round to claim bronze with 533.00 points.
Foerster’s delight was evident after the competition.
“I’m very happy about it because my goal was to perform my personal best. Yes, and I did it,” he said.
“And yeah, I’m very happy with the second place, about the results.”
Despite narrowly missing gold, Foerster was among the first to celebrate Awe’s victory.
“Yes, I’m happy for everyone who competes and if they do their best and if they are happy, I’m happy too,” he said.
The double success strengthened Germany’s position among the leading nations in Budapest, while Russia continued to add to its impressive medal haul through Trifonova’s silver.
With two days of competition remaining, the attention now turns to the penultimate day, which begins with the girls B platform preliminary at 10:30 local time. The finals for that event, the boys B 3m springboard final and the girls 3m synchro final begin at 17:00.
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
