European Juniors, Day 4 Finals: Czech Republic’s Jan Foltyn Mines Gold in 50 Freestyle
The European Junior Championships have moved into their back half in Munich, with the Day Four finals featuring eight medals races on Friday night. The boys’ 200 breaststroke will feature Turkiye’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu, the top seed and his country’s record-holder in the event. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s Jan Foltyn and Spain’s Luca Hoek are expected to battle for the title in the 50 freestyle.
On the girls’ side, Neutral Athlete Viktoriia Kariuk and Switzerland’s Kay-Lyn Lohn are in the middle lanes for the final of the 200 breaststroke. In the 200 backstroke, the top-five athletes are separated by only .39 entering the final.
Here is a look at what took place during the Day Four finals:
- Results
- Day 1 Prelims Wrap
- Day 1 Finals Wrap
- Day 2 Prelims Wrap
- Day 2 Finals Wrap
- Day 3 Prelims Wrap
- Day 3 Finals Wrap
- Day 4 Prelims Wrap
Czech Jan Foltyn Surges to 50 Freestyle Crown
Last year, the Czech Republic’s Jan Foltyn made a pair of podium appearances on the international stage in the 50 butterfly. In addition to winning the silver medal in the event at the European Junior Champs, Foltyn was the bronze medalist in the sprint discipline at the World Junior Championships. On Friday night, he stood on top of the podium in the 50 freestyle.
Dueling with Spain’s Luca Hoek, Foltyn emerged victorious in the 50 free, thanks to a swim of 22.10. Although the effort was slightly slower than his national record of 22.03 from the semifinals, Foltyn got to the wall ahead of Hoek, who was timed in 22.14. The bronze medal went to Italy’s Cristian Tassan-Caser in 22.25.
Foltyn still has the 50 fly to come, and will be expected to add to his medal collection.
Nathan Muratory Overwhelms in 200 Backstroke; Tie in Girls’ 200 Backstroke
France’s Nathan Muratory basically raced against the clock in the final of the boys’ 200 backstroke, where he finished just off the world junior record. Muratory led from start to finish and touched the wall in 1:55.88, which was good for a three-second triumph over silver medalist Daniel Ransom of Great Britain, who went 1:59.00. Bronze was secured by Poland’s Mateusz Bienkowski in 1:59.19.
Muratory bolted to the front of the field at the start, splitting 27.36 for the first 50 meters. He went through the 100-meter mark in 56.65 and touched at the 150 in 1:26.49. Muratory’s final time was .74 off the world junior record of 1:55.14, set in 2017 by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov.
In the girls’ 200 backstroke, Jeanne LeChevalier gave the French a sweep of the event, but she had to share her title with Hungarian Fanni Kokas. LeChevalier and Kokas posted matching times of 2:10.76, which was almost a second faster than the Netherlands’ Eva Rottink, who took bronze in 2:11.71.
The boys’ 400 individual medley was won by Belgium’s Simon Laviolette, who turned in a swim of 4:18.69. That effort handed Laviolette a comfortable decision over Neutral Athlete Denis Piataikin (4:21.35).
Doruk Yogurtcuoglu Breaks Turkish Record in 200 Breaststroke
The overhwelming top seed entering the final, Turkiye’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu dominated the final of the boys’ 200 breaststroke with a national-record performance. Yogurtcuoglu registered a mark of 2:09.43 to prevail by nearly two seconds over Evangelos Ntoumas, who clocked a 2:11.37. Yogurtcuoglu bettered his previous Turkish record of 2:06.62, set at the Acropolis Open in May.
Yogurtcuoglu trailed Ntoumas by .06 after the opening 50 meters, but he asserted himself over the final three lengths, widening his margin on each lap. Yogurtcuoglu was .69 quicker than his Green foe on the second length and a half-second faster on the third 50. On the homecoming lap, the Turkish star enjoyed a .79 margin.
In the girls’ 200 breaststroke, Great Britain’s Imogen Myles pulled off an upset by winning out of Lane Six. The British athlete covered her four laps in 2:26.02 to defeat the top seeds, Switzerland’s Kay-Lyn Lohr (2:26.10) and Neutral Athlete Viktoriia Kariuk (2:26.17). Myles surged ahead of Lohr on the last lap and fended off a final charge from Kariuk.
Egor Baranov Leads Neutral Athletes
Seeded fourth heading into the final of the boys’ 100 butterfly, Egor Baranov saved his best for the biggest moment, as he claimed the gold medal in 52.20. Baranov sat in second place at the turn, with his split of 23.99 narrowly trailing the 23.98 of Italian Francesco Ceolin. Baranov and Ceolin battled over the closing 50 meters, with Ceolin touching right behind the Russian in 53.23. The bronze medal went to Spain’s Joaquin Pavon Soto in 52.55.
The Neutral Athlete roll was also fueled by Kseniia Sorokina, who earned the top seed for Saturday’s final of the girls’ 100 freestyle. Sorokina touched in 54.64, followed by Italian Alessandra Mao (54.85) and German Linda Roth (54.87). Also advancing out of the semifinals with the fastest time for the Neutral Athletes was Serafima Fokina, who paced the 200 butterfly in 2:10.27. She was followed by Hungarian Vivien Jackl in 2:11.41.
Mao came through on the anchor leg of Italy’s mixed medley relay, as she brought the team to the wall in 3:48.14, which was just ahead of Germany’s 3:48.25. Mao closed in 53.58, which was .12 quicker than the 53.70 of Roth ande made the difference in the outcome. Mao was preceded by Gabriele de Scola (54.98) on the backstroke leg, Matteo Ongaro (1:01.42) on breaststroke and Caterina Santambrogio (58.16) on butterfly.