Apostolos Siskos Posts Fastest Time in World in 200 Backstroke; Becomes Third-Fastest European of All-Time
During the first day of Acropolis Swim Open in Athens, Apostolos Siskos claimed victory in the 200-meter backstroke with the fastest time in the world for 2026.
The 20-year-old registered a performance of 1:54.12, which was more than two seconds faster than the 1:56.29 he managed last month. With his 1:54-low effort, Siskos took over the world lead, as he bettered the matching 1:55.57 marks by South Africa’s Pieter Coetze and Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara.
Siskos opened his race at the Acropolis Open with a 26.76 split for the first 50 meters, and he followed with a 29.27 split for the second length. His back end featured splits of 29.35 and 28.74.
In addition to moving to No. 1 in the world, Siskos broke his own national record, which previously sat at 1:54.66, from last year’s Greek Championships. Siskos is now the No. 11 performer in the history of the 200 backstroke and is the third-fastest European in the event, trailing only Hungarian Hubert Kos (1:53.19) and Russian Evgeny Rylov (1:53.23). Siskos is just shy of the top-10 of all-time, with China’s Xu Jiayu (1:53.99) sitting in the No. 10 position.
Siskos will be a leading medal contender at this summer’s European Championships in Paris. Last summer, he finished fifth in the 200 backstroke at the World Championships in Singapore, clocking 1:55.13. He is now a second faster than that time as he moves toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.