Hungary is preparing to host the European Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2026, with the shores of Lake Velence in Sukoro set to stage four days of top-level junior competition from tomorrow (July 23) to Sunday (June 26).

The town of Sukoro lies around 50km from Budapest on the shores of Hungary’s second-largest lake, and the Championships will be staged at the Katalin Kovács National Kayak Academy, a state-of-the-art sports complex officially opened in October 2024 and named after the three-time Olympic kayaking champion and 31-time World Championship gold medallist.

The venue sits directly on the lake and includes an Olympic-size indoor pool that will serve as the athletes’ training base throughout the week, alongside open water training sessions on Lake Velence itself.

The competition programme gets underway on July 23 with the boys’ and girls 10km, followed by the 7.5km events later the same day. The Boys’ and Girls’ 5km follow on July 24 before the Knockout Sprints for the 17-19 and 14-16 age groups on July 25

The Championships close on July 26 with the U19 and U16 Mixed Relays over 6km.

Racing will take place on the lake’s rectangular rowing course, with no currents or significant waves expected, and lap distances of 1.66km for the 10km, 1.5km for the 7.5km and 6km relays, and a three-stage 1.5km-1km-0.5km format for the Knockout Sprints.

Hungary arrive as hosts on the back of a stellar showing at last year’s edition in Setúbal, where they were crowned overall best team with eight podium finishes, and a striking number of last year’s medallists are back on the entry list.

The Hungarian gold-winning U16 mixed relay quartet – Boroka Kertesz, Anna Bartalos, Márton Huszti and Bálint Kreisz – won by ten seconds in Setúbal, and three of the four return in Sukoro.

Bartalos, who also took individual bronze in the Girls 5km and silver in the Knockout Sprint last year, is entered in the 7.5km, both Knockout categories and the U16 Mixed Relay. Huszti, who was fifth in the Boys 10km, lines up in the 7.5km, Knockout 17-19 and the U19 Mixed Relay, while Kreisz returns in the 7.5km and Knockout 17-19.

They will find familiar rivals waiting for them. Italy’s U19 mixed relay quartet of Rebecca Rimoldi, Viola Giraudo, Davide Grossi and Giovanni Lauricella denied Hungary a second relay gold last year by just 0.07sec – the closest finish in the event’s history – and two of that team are back to defend it.

Grossi and Lauricella are both entered in the Boys 10km, Knockout 17-19 and U19 Mixed Relay, while Giraudo, who also took individual silver in the Girls 10km last year, returns in that event once more.

Turkey’s Su Inal, who claimed a dramatic Girls 5km gold in Setúbal ahead of France’s Rosalie Mesmacque and Hungary’s Bartalos, is back and entered across the 7.5km, both Knockout categories and the U16 Mixed Relay. Mesmacque also returns, entered in the 7.5km, Knockout 14-16 and U19 Mixed Relay, as does Turkey’s Kaan Karadayi, silver medallist in the Boys 5km, who is entered in the U16 Mixed Relay.

Greece’s Nikolaos Kakoulakis, who produced a dramatic come-from-behind win in last year’s Boys 5km, returns in the 7.5km and Knockout 14-16, while compatriot Konstantinos Chourdakis, gold medallist in the Boys 7.5km, is back in the same event and the Knockout 17-19. Greece’s Vasileios Kakoulakis, bronze medallist in last year’s Boys Knockout Sprint, returns in the Boys 10km and Knockout 17-19.

Hungary’s Napsugár Nagy, who won Girls 7.5km gold in Setúbal, moves up to the 10km and U19 Mixed Relay this year, while Italy’s Ginevra Bagaglini, runner-up in that same race, returns in the 7.5km and U19 Mixed Relay.

France’s Ethan Parker, bronze medallist in the Boys 10km, is back in the 10km, Knockout 17-19 and U19 Mixed Relay.

Beyond that returning core, the wider entry list points to a deep and competitive field, with Germany fielding one of the largest delegations in Sukoro and further strong squads from Poland, Switzerland, Spain, France, Israel, Slovakia and elsewhere across the 5km, 7.5km, 10km, Knockout and mixed relay programme.

The Championships will culminate in the U19 and U16 mixed 6km relays on the final day – the very events that produced last year’s photo-finish drama – with Hungary chasing home glory and Italy looking to defend their crown on foreign soil.

Click here to access the event page, which includes live results and start lists.

Click here to watch all of the action on EuroAquaticsTV.

Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics