Day 7 Prelims at the 2026 European Championships See Tight Races and Surprising Scratches

The last prelims session of the 2026 European Championships delivered a mix of fierce competition and unexpected withdrawals. Six events were on the program, beginning with the women’s 400 m freestyle where Germany’s Isabel Gose entered as the top seed with a 4:02.90, closely followed by Italy’s Simona Quadarella at 4:03.44. Other contenders included Maya Werner (4:06.08) and Freya Colbert (4:06.16), while European junior champion Kseniia Misharina posted a 4:07.52. ## Women’s 400 m Freestyle Heats The heats unfolded in two distinct groups. The first circle-seeded heat was relatively subdued, whereas the second, featuring three German swimmers, produced the fastest times. Werner claimed the heat win with a lifetime best of 4:05.40, edging Gose (4:06.37) by a full second. Germany’s Linda Roth, despite a 4:08.42 effort, fell victim to the two-per-nation rule and missed the final. Portugal’s Francisca Soares Martins posted a 4:08.01, narrowly missing her national record, and Quadarella secured the fourth-fastest qualifying time at 4:08.07. The final qualifying spot was taken by Czechia’s Barbara Seemanova (4:12.05) by a margin of 0.03 seconds, while Great Britain’s Freya Colbert, seeded fourth, withdrew after winning gold in the mixed 4×200 m free relay the previous night. ## Men’s 400 m Freestyle Heats German swimmers again featured prominently, with world-record holder Lukas Martens (3:40.61) and second seed Oliver Klemet (3:43.14) among the favorites. The heats produced a surprising order of finish. Hungary’s Oliver Papai surged in heat 5, posting a personal best of 3:45.32 and overtaking his entry time by 2.5 seconds. In the same heat, France’s Leon Marchand, fresh off a 200 fly victory, posted a 3:45.85, while Germany’s Klemet recorded the fastest overall time of 3:45.22, guaranteeing a spot in the final. James Guy, the 200 free bronze medalist, faded to seventh place with a 3:48.68. The final heat saw Marchand’s trademark underwaters give him a narrow lead, but Belgium’s Lucas Henveaux ultimately won the heat in 3:45.78, pushing Martens to eighth place with a 3:46.33 finish, just 0.35 seconds ahead of teammate Sven Schwarz. ## Relay and Sprint Showdowns The women’s 4×100 m medley heats featured Italy, Germany, Great Britain, and France all posting sub-4-minute times, with Italy edging Germany by a hundredth (3:57.11 vs. 3:57.12). Great Britain’s performance positioned them as a potential lane-center contender for the evening final. In the mixed medley relay, Neutral Athletes B entered as defending world champions but appeared vulnerable after a missed 100 m backstroke semi-final by Kliment Kolesnikov. France, buoyed by home support after recent Olympic medals, will rely on Carl Aitkaci to fill the breaststroke leg, having delivered a 59.05 split in the mixed relay. ## Final Sprint Events and a Pending Swim-off The session concluded with the combined classification sprints. Alexander Hillhouse, the men’s 100 m free champion from the previous night, led the men’s 50 m free seedings, while Defne Kurt topped the women’s 100 m free after a near-world-record 50 m effort (0.03 seconds shy of the S10 record). A unique situation arose in the women’s 50 m breaststroke: Kotryna Teterevkoca and Ralina Giliazova tied for ninth place (30.55) and again in a swim-off (30.43). A second swim-off will determine the first reserve for the final. Overall, Day 7’s prelims highlighted Germany’s depth in the middle-distance freestyle events, a tight contest among the women’s 400 m freestylers, and the impact of strategic scratches on relay line-ups. The evening finals promise further drama as athletes seek to convert these qualifying performances into podium finishes.