Samorin 2025: Hunter hails EA U23 Swimming Championships as key pathway for young athletes
The second edition of the European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships – following the event’s debut in Dublin two years ago – is a key element in the competitive pathway of young athletes according to Craig Hunter, chair of the EA Technical Swimming Committee.
With the latest Championships set to start in Samorin, Slovakia tomorrow Hunter has spoken to European Aquatics about the pivotal role they can play for those aspiring to senior European, world and Olympic competition – emphasising the fact that they will serve as a qualifying event for next month’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
“We are really, really proud of this event,” Hunter said. “It was a long time in the making and we finally got it off the ground in 2023. It was excellent to have United States and African participation to boost the event.
“It took us seven years to get it from design to implementation and I think that some of the other continental associations will be looking at that.
“The purpose of the event was to offer an opportunity to athletes who missed out on a World Championship performance. The 19-to-23 age range is really tough as you are transitioning from world class junior to world class senior level.
“Whereas in European events we have always gone for four athletes, at World Championship level you have only two athletes per country in each event.
“If you look historically at British swimming, for example, whenever we’ve had one great breaststroker we’ve always had a multitude – and some of those get left behind. And the same kind of thing is true in lots of countries.
“So we wanted to provide a competitive opportunity for some of those who have missed out on World Championships. The first event in Dublin was a huge success. This year, because of circumstances, we are offering the event earlier.
“And in fact it will be a qualifier for the World Championships. So if there are teams that have not been finalised and they want a last qualifying opportunity then Samorin will be the opportunity for them.
“It will just be Europeans this time around. Europe has an amazingly sophisticated competition programme, and bringing the US and Africa made them realise how important such an event can be and maybe gave them ideas about how they could be promoting their own versions.
“I think it will be a great competition. Again it’s outdoors, with all the challenges outdoor swimming presents to a lot of athletes. But I was at the venue a few weeks ago and everything looked very, very impressive. And I think we are going to have a really top class U23 event this year.”
The vast majority of the 373 entered athletes from 42 countries will be using these Championships for the purpose identified by Hunter.
For a number of marquee names taking part, however, the gap to senior international competition has already been bridged.
Romania’s 20-year-old Olympic 200m freestyle champion David Popovici will make his debut in these Championships, as will 20-year-old Diogo Ribeiro, who became the first Portuguese swimmer to earn a world title last year when he won gold in the 100m and 200m butterfly.
The women’s entry includes Bosnia and Hercegovina’s 19-year-old Lana Pudar, who last year added European silver in the 200m butterfly to the gold she had won at the 2022 Rome Championships, and who also earned her first world medal in finishing third in the same event at the Doha Championships.
Also set for competition in the women’s racing is Estonia’s 18-year-old Eneli Jefimova, who won the 100m breaststroke title at the 2023 European Aquatics Short Course Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
But for 23-year-old Sven Schwarz, who set a European men’s 800m freestyle record of 7:38.12 at the German Swimming Championships in May, these Championships have already played a key part in his development.
Schwarz – fifth in this event at the Paris 2024 Games – had a previous best of 7:41.77 set in winning gold at the inaugural EA U23 Championships in Dublin, where Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, who won Olympic 800m gold last summer, took silver.
His record bettered the mark of 7:38.19 set by Wiffen in winning his Olympic title.
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
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