A nigh-on packed Olympic Aquatic Centre witnessed two arresting statements of intent from two world champions in the opening session of the Paris 2026 swimming competition.
Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands, who had spoken the previous day about getting “some kind of revenge” after Paris 2024 results that fell below her expectations, began that process by setting a women’s 100m freestyle Championship record of 52.62 in the heats.
And home athlete Maxime Grousset, injured in the run-up to these European Aquatics Championships, was fastest qualifier in the men’s 50m butterfly as he was roared home in 22.49 – just 0.01 off the French record he set in winning world gold last summer.
Second fastest qualifier in the 50m butterfly in 22.69 was Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, whom Grousset beat to the world 50m and 100m butterfly titles in Singapore last summer.
If Ponti had had any doubts about the fitness of his rival, who had not competed since breaking a bone in his left foot during training in early June, he will be under no misapprehension now.
NAB’s Egon Kornev was third fastest on 22.70, with Hungary’s Paris 2024 100m butterfly champion Kristof Milak fifth fastest in 22.96.
Steenbergen, seeking a second European 100m title to go with her two world titles, was followed home by 21-year-old team-mate Milou van Wijk on 53.00, with NAB’s Daria Klepikova on 53.66, Sara Curtis of Italy on 53.76 and Czechia’s defending champion Barbora Seemanova on 53.77.
Great Britain’s multiple world and Olympic champion Adam Ramsay-Peaty, so cast down by failing to do better than two bronze medals at last month’s Commonwealth Games, regained his early season levels of performance in the men’s 100m breaststroke as he qualified fastest for tonight’s semi-finals in 59.08 – half a second faster than he managed in Glasgow.
The swimmer who beat him to the Paris 2024 100m breaststroke title by 0.02, Nicolo Martinenghi, was joint second fastest in 59.11 with his Italian team-mate, world 50m breastroke champion Simone Cerasuolo.
In the absence of France’s world and Olympic champion Leon Marchand, whose recent injury has precluded him from events involving breaststroke, the heats of the men’s 400 individual medley – the four-time Paris 2024 gold medallist’s signature event – were topped by NAB’s Ilia Borodin on 4:13.10.
Germany’s Finn Hammer was second fastest into tonight’s final on 4:13.45 followed by Alberto Razzetti of Italy on 4:13.54.
Britain’s Katie Shanahan was fastest in the women’s 200m backstroke heats in 2:09.29 from Germany’s Lisa Seidel on 2:10.02.
Germany qualified fastest for tonight’s men’s 4x200m freestyle final in 7:04.83, with Great Britain – who included two of their most recent Olympic and world gold medal winners in Tom Dean and Jack McMillan – second fastest in 7:05.07 and Lithuania third fastest on 7:05.93.
Italy’s Simona Quadarella reached tomorrow night’s women’s 800m freestyle final as fastest qualifier in 8:23.17, with Isabel Gose of Germany second fastest in 8:26.01.
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Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
