Setubal 2025: Thrilling knockout races provide spectacle as day two concludes
The second day of the European Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships Setubal 2025 delivered another series of thrilling contests, as the next wave of European talent took to the waters of the Parque Urbano de Albarquel once again. Saturday’s programme saw the J1 5km events and the still-fresh 3km Knockout Sprint event, with Greece, Turkey and France each celebrating gold medal moments in the Portuguese municipality, and the latter country pulling even further away in the medal table.
In the Boys’ 5km J1, which kicked off proceedings in the scorching heat, it was Greece’s Nikolaos Kakoulakis who made the headlines with a come-from-behind victory marked by patience and late-race acceleration. After sitting second at the 1.25km mark, Kakoulakis fell to fifth and then sixth through the middle of the race, trailing by over two seconds at 3.75km. But in a final lap surge he powered through the field to touch in 54:11.16, ahead of Turkey’s Kaan Karadayi and Poland’s Tymoteusz Wiszniowski, who took silver and bronze respectively.
Turkey didn’t have to wait long for their own golden moment. In the Girls’ 5km J1, Su Inal delivered what was eventually an emotional display when she came into the finish, taking the lead at the 2.5km mark and never relinquishing it. Her final time of 56:55.23 saw her fend off a late challenge from France’s Rosalie Mesmacque, who surged from fifth at the 3.75km mark to claim silver just 1.95 seconds behind. Hungary’s Anna Bartalos, who had led early on and stayed firmly in the mix throughout, finished just 0.13 seconds further back in third.
Both 3km Knockout Sprint events proved once again why the event is one of the most successful additions to an aquatics event calendar – as it provided drama and emotion in equal measure. In the boys event which kicked off the afternoon, the lead of the event changed hands through all three of the rounds. With the two preliminary heats whittling the field down to 20, and then the top-10 sprinting to the line in a 500m dash, the Setubal crowd were full of energy for the drama that the sprint finish brought.
France’s Emile Mesmacque was victorious in the end – doubling up on the 10km gold he won the previous day. In what was a five-strong formation into the funnel, they touched almost in unison and were separated by less than a second. The Frenchman still did enough for the win following an intense waiting period for the result to be confirmed and took the gold in a time of 6:08.06. Germany’s Arne Schubert took the silver, and Greece’s Vasileios Kakoulakis the bronze.
In the afternoon’s Girls’ 3km Knockout Sprint Final, Hungarian Bartalos returned to the water and added a silver to her tally – but it was France’s Lou-Ann Gaudaire who again stole the show. After her dramatic 10km win on day one, Gaudaire showed she also possesses pure speed, clocking 6:44.67 in the 500m showdown to take gold and complete a personal double, along with her male compatriot. Polina Koziakina earned bronze, adding to her sixth-place finish from the longer distance event.
The French team continue to lead the medal table, thanks to Mesmacque and Gaudaire both earning double golds across the individual and knockout events. They sit top on six medals (four gold). Greece’s three medals (two gold) see them move up to second, with Hungary’s six medals (one gold) puts them third.
With the championships set to conclude on Saturday with the mixed team relays, the final day promises more excitement as national squads compete for collective honours. Racing resumes at 11am local time (WEST), with medals and overall bragging rights still very much up for grabs.
Click here for the full results from the competition so far.
Click here to watch all the action live.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
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