European Juniors, Day 5 Finals: Vivien Jackl Adds Butterfly Title to Collection
Many of Europe’s rising stars were back in the water on Saturday for the fifth day of the European Championships in Munich. There were five finals scheduled for the session, with a plethora of semifinals to set up the final day of the meet on Sunday. One year after earning the bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly, Neutral Athlete Serafima Fokina was the top seed in the event and chasing a higher podium finish.
Here is a look at the Day Five action:
- 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
- Day 4 Finals Wrap
- Day 5 Prelims Wrap
Vivien Jackl Surges to Title in 200 Butterfly
Racing in her fifth consecutive edition of the European Junior Championships, Hungary’s Vivien Jackl made another appearance on the podium, this time with a victory in the 200 butterfly. Seeded second heading into the final, Jackl used a superb back half to claim the gold medal with a time of 2:09.42. Jackl was third at the midway point of the race, but moved into the lead on the third lap and maintained that position while finishing ahead of Neutral Athlete Serafima Fokina (2:10.06). Boroka Kertesz made it two Hungarians in the medals, as she placed third in 2:10.87.
The silver medalist earlier this week in the 400 individual medley, Jackl first medaled at the European Juniors in 2022 and has been a major force at the subsequent editions of the meet. Her win in the 200 fly marked her first title in that event, and complements gold medals in the 400 IM from 2023 and 2024. Her career medal count at the Euro Juniors is in the double digits.
Jackl will compete in the final of the 800 freestyle later in the session as part of a demanding double.
Alessandra Mao Rallies for Gold in 100 Freestyle
When Italian Alessandra Mao turned in the final of the girls’ 100 freestyle, there were six competitors ahead of the teenager. By the end of the race, Mao trailed no one. Using a stellar back half, Mao picked up the gold medal in the 100 free in 54.37, with Neutral Athlete Kira Manokhina (54.37) taking second. Great Britain’s Emma Wood followed in 54.61.
After propelling Italy to the title in the 800 freestyle relay on Friday, Mao overcame a big deficit with her closing speed to hand her an individual crown on Saturday. Mao was seventh at the halfway point, her split of 26.51 well off the leading pace of Manokhina. Over the last lap, Mao gradually cut into the Russian’s lead and narrowly got to the wall first. Her closing split of 27.77 was .76 quicker than Manokhina.
Grigorii Vekovishchev Impresses in 800 Freestyle for Neutral Athletes
Neutral Athlete Grigorii Vekovishchev put together an excellent performance in the final of the 800 freestyle, where Russian swimmers grabbed two medals. Vekovishchev secured the gold medal behind a swim of 7:52.31, which was a little more than a second faster than silver medalist Mikolaj Litoborski (7:53.36) of Poland. Taking the bronze medal was Neutral Athlete Maksim Gusev (7:54.37).
Egor Proshin locked up Lane Four for the final of the boys’ 100 freestyle, as he clocked 48.51 in the semifinals. Proshin was followed by Spain’s Luca Hoek (48.76), who recently cracked the 48-second barrier at the Spanish Championships. Another top seed was earned by the Neutral Athletes in the boys’ 100 backstroke, where Mikhail Shcherbakov went 54.30. However, France’s Nathan Muratory, the winner of the 200 backstroke, qualified second in 55.06 and figures to be a major factor in the final.
In Other Semifinals Action…
The Ukrainian tandem of Iryna Miliutina (1:08.81) and Yana Klikotska (1:08.89) managed the only sub-1:09 marks of the semifinals to nail down the middle lanes for the final. Meanwhile, Germany’s Louis Hoffmann (1:00.64) advanced to the final of the boys’ 100 breaststroke as the top seed, and Romania’s Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu touched in 1:00.25 to lead the way into the final of the girls’ 100 backstroke.
France’s Andreanne Bourseul clocked a championship record of 26.03 for the fastest time of the girls’ 50 butterfly semifinals and the Czech Republic’s Jan Foltyn continued to show speed. Coming off a win in the 50 freestyle, Foltyn emerged as the favorite in the 50 butterfly, going 23.37 in the semifinals. Poland’s Barbara Lesniewska was fastest in the semifinals of the girls’ 200 individual medley, thanks to a time of 2:14.50.