Barbora Seemanová secured her third European title in the 200-meter freestyle in Paris, setting a new championship record and breaking her own Czech mark with a time of 1:54.38. The 26-year-old swimmer triumphed over a competitive field, capping a resilient comeback through a powerful finish that pushed her time below 1:55 for the first time.
Swimmer Barbora Seemanová claimed her third career European championship in the 200-meter freestyle event in Paris, dominating the water and lowering her own national record by 74 setin sekundy (hundredths of a second) to 1:54.38 according to reporting from the capital. That stellar time also establishes a brand-new benchmark as a European championships record.
The 26-year-old athlete added this gold to previous kraul (freestyle) dvoustovka victories at the 2021 European Championships in Budapest and in Belgrade. Across her career in long-course continental championships, she has now secured four titles and six medals overall, cementing her status among Europe’s elite racers.
A Record-Breaking Final and Tactical Finih in Paris
Barbora Seemanová, swimmer, stated that it was the best race of her life and the best-executed race of her life.
She attributed her victory to a carefully planned second half of the race, engineered alongside her coaching staff to capitalize on closing speed. Slicing through the third fifty meters under 30 seconds at 29.6, she followed up with a final fifty under 29 seconds to secure a decisive edge. That explosive finish brought her under the 1:55 threshold for the first time.
Barbora Seemanová, swimmer, noted that time means a great deal to them in swimming, explaining that she and her coach had worked on the second half because that is where races are won, and she added that having her third fifty under 30 seconds at 29.6 was incredible, while her final fifty was under 29, something she had worked on for an awfully long time.
Overcoming Setbacks to Join Continental Royalty
The journey back to the top of the podium involved navigating significant health complications, making the zlatý hattrick (golden hat-trick) especially meaningful for the Prague-born competitor.
Barbora Seemanová, swimmer, affirmed that she never gave up, knowing that it was inside her, because not everything happens right away, and once she found the right path, the right people, and the right team, suddenly everything falls into place.
With this third gold from the 200-meter freestyle distance, Seemanová approaches historic territory. Among European competitors on this specific kraul distance, only Italy’s Federica Pellegrini holds more titles, having secured four European championships between 2009 and 2019.
Throughout the Parisian meet, Seemanová demonstrated commanding form from the preliminary heats through the semifinals and into the final. Her primary challenger in the event was Netherlands competitor Marrit Steenbergenová, who had won the 100-meter race two days prior. Though Seemanová placed seventh in that shorter sprint, she turned the tables in the 200-meter final, defeating Steenbergenová by 27 setin to claim the top step of the podium, while Britain’s Freya Colbertová secured the bronze.
Broader Czech Success and International Highlights in Paris
Seemanová’s ambitions at the championships extended beyond her signature event. Earlier in the day, she tested her speed in the 100-meter butterfly preliminaries, clocking a new Czech record of 57,43. She intentionally bypassed the semifinals to preserve her energy for the 200-meter freestyle final. Watching from the stands was her partner, fencer Alexander Choupenitch, who captured a world championship title among foilists less than three weeks prior.
The Czech delegation looks toward additional podium potential as Miroslav Knedla advanced smoothly through the 50-meter backstroke semifinals. Knedla clocked 24.20 seconds—just a single hundredth of a second behind his morning Czech record—earning the third-fastest qualifying position for the final behind neutral Russian competitors Pavel Samusenko and Kliment Kolesnikov.
Meanwhile, international competition in the French capital delivered further record-breaking performances. Nineteen-year-old Italian Sara Curtisová lowered the world record in the 50-meter backstroke twice within the span of two days, opening with a 26.63 in the semifinals before shaving off another seven hundredths in the final to touch the wall at 26.56.
Worth a look