The European Aquatics Masters Championships 2026 moved into their final stages this week, with the swimming and artistic swimming programmes reaching their closing stages while masters diving got underway in Graz, Austria.
At the X-Bionic Sphere in Samorín, the swimming programme continued to showcase the depth of masters swimming, with more championship and European records broken alongside a packed programme of relay and individual events.
In Bratislava, artistic swimmers continued to deliver strong performances across duet, team and combination events, before the spotlight turned to the boards in Graz.
The final stages of the swimming programme produced another collection of impressive championship records, with standout performances coming from a wide range of countries and age groups.
Great Britain’s Paul Wilkes delivered one of the fastest relative swims of the championships so far, setting a championship record of 2:12.22 in the men’s 40-44 200m butterfly for Birmingham Masters SC.
Hungary’s Viktoria Haden-Felfoldi also produced a memorable swim, setting a championship record of 2:27.64 in the women’s 40-44 200m butterfly for Iron Swimteam.
Germany’s Susanne Reibel-Oberle added another record in the women’s 60-64 200m butterfly, clocking 2:49.57 for SSV Lahr 1921.
The event also saw strong performances from further generations of masters swimmers. Italy’s Franca Bosisio won the women’s 55-59 200m butterfly in 2:40.71 for Team Trezzo Sport SSD, while Great Britain’s Janet McLean took the 50-54 title in 2:39.88 for Carnegie ASC. Spain’s Blanca Hermida Rodriguez was fastest in the 45-49 category with 2:45.37 for CN Ferrol.
Audrey Cooper of Silver City Blues Masters also added another championship record to her campaign, winning the women’s 70-74 200m butterfly in 3:42.20.
All-in-all, the competition saw emotional stories and a number of historic records taken down. The attention of the masters swimming community will now turn to Budapest, Hungary, for the World Aquatics Masters Championships 2027.
In Bratislava, artistic swimming rounded out with a packed programme of free routines across duet, team and combination events.
Mouettes de Paris enjoyed a particularly strong finish, winning the women’s duet free 30-39 category with 74.2333 before taking the free combination 20-39 title with 76.9000.
Great Britain’s Rushmoor Artistic Swimming Club also secured success in the later programme, taking the women’s duet free 60-69 category with 62.0667.
The open team free 50-64 competition was won by another British entry, while Iuventa Aquatix of Slovakia claimed the free combination 40-64 title with 73.3667.
France’s SP de La Mulatière took the mixed duet free 30-39 title with 66.5000, while CN Brest led the men’s duet free 40-49 competition with 56.0667.
The artistic swimming programme in Bratislava saw incredible displays of unity and togetherness, with many new friendships made throughout the week.
With swimming and artistic swimming reaching their closing stages, attention also turned to Graz, Austria, where the diving competition began on Monday.
The opening day featured eight events across the 1m and 3m springboards, ranging from the 85-89 age groups through to the 20-29 category.
There was an immediate home victory as Austria’s Irmtraud Bohn took the women’s 1m springboard 85-89 title, while Jenni Cluskey of Southend Diving Club won the 75-79 competition for Great Britain.
Gabriella Gulyas of Germany also impressed in the 80-84 event, while Thierry Pichon of Olympique Nice Natation claimed the men’s 3m springboard 65-69 title with 223.95 points.
The opening day also featured victories for athletes from Sweden, Hungary, Finland and the Netherlands as diving immediately established itself as another major part of this year’s Masters Championships.
With the swimming and artistic swimming programmes rounding out and diving now underway in Graz, the European Aquatics Masters Championships are entering their final phase with all three disciplines showcasing the enduring excellence of masters aquatics.
Click here for the start lists and results from the competition.
Click here to watch all of the action on EuroAquaticsTV.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
