Europe Needs a New Star in Women’s Events to Keep Up with the Rest of the World
The last three years, Summer McIntosh, Mollie O’Callaghan, Ariarne Titmus and Gretchen Walsh – among others – have been showstoppers in the sport. They are generational female talents who have altered the record books. What is another common theme with this group? None are European.
In the meantime, Europe watched eight different men capture Olympic titles at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, including Leon Marchand, David Popovici, Thomas Ceccon and Lukas Martens. On the women’s side, Sarah Sjostrom is Europe’s most powerful weapon, but the sprint queen is now 31 and is bypassing this summer’s World Championships in Singapore while pregnant.
Through the years, Europe has routinely featured a female star, from Germany’s Franziska van Almsick to the era in which Katinka Hosszu and Federica Pellegrini dominated. While they didn’t win every title, Hosszu and Pellegrini remained consistently in contention and winning medals. Last year, Sjostrom won two gold medals at the Olympics and in 2023 set a world record in the 50 freestyle. From 2005 to 2019, Pellegrini never missed a podium at the World Championships in the 200 freestyle while Hosszu won nine world titles.
This year, it seems all hopes for European female medals at the World Champs are on the breaststrokers. Eneli Jefimova, Angharad Evans and Evgeniia Chikunova are the fastest swimmers in the world in their respective events. Jefimova has fired off a time of 29.83 in 50 breaststroke while Evans swam 1:05.37 in the 100 distance. Chikunova leads the way in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:20.36.
We also shouldn’t forget Mona McSharry, who won 100 breast bronze at the Paris Games, and Benedetta Pilato and Ruta Meilutyte are capable returning to international podiums. Tes Schouten, last year’s Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 breast, would be in contention if not for health issues keeping her out of the Singapore meet.
For the future, Sara Curtis offers promise in the sprints. The 18-year-old rising star from Italy recently broke national records in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle with times of 24.43 and 53.01 and, with additional drops, could contend for World Champs medals.
Yet, the breaststrokers and Curtis do not account for enough firepower to make a significant impact on the world scene. While the European men look poised to continue to dominate global swimming, the women will lag behind unless there is significant development in other events. The rest of the world’s best female swimmers have spent the past several years pulling ahead, and we’ll see if and when Europe’s contingent can catch up.
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