Two golden European records for Steenbergen on Lublin 2025 day 3 – and a world relay record for Italy
Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands earned a golden double on Lublin 2025 day 3 as she took the women’s 100m medley and 200m freestyle titles in European and Championship record times – with Italy rounding off a dizzying night by posting a world record of 1:27.26 in the mixed 4x50m freestyle.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Olympic 800m champion Daniel Wiffen, making his competitive comeback after having his appendix removed, struck late to win a stacked men’s 1500m final, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti earned his second gold in the men’s 100m medley and Great Britain’s Duncan Scott was victorious ins the 200m freestyle.
Steenbergen, the 25-year-old double world 100m freestyle champion, had said at the opening press conference that she was “curious” to see what she could do in short course competition. That curiosity will surely have been satisfied after tonight’s action in the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships at Aqua Lublin.
The Dutch athlete secured her women’s 100m medley title after taking over the lead at the halfway point and maintaining it until she turned for the final freestyle leg. Game over – and the clock registered a record mark of 56.26, eclipsing the European mark of 56.41 set by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu in 2017.
“I’m so happy to be swimming a pb and a European record,” Steenbergen said. “It’s just crazy! Beforehand I wanted to go 56 because I had been 57 low this season so I thought ‘Ok, I’m feeling good so I want to go 56’ but I didn’t expect to go 56 low. I mean, that’s just crazy.”
Belgium’s 20-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk earned her second silver medal of these Championships as she came home in 56.80, with bronze going to Israel’s 22-year-old Anastasia Gorbenko in 57.17.
Steenbergen had stepped to her block for the women’s 200m freestyle only 10 minutes after stepping down from the top of the podium after her medley medal ceremony.
This time round there was even less doubt about the result as the Dutch swimmer led from start to finish, clocking her second European and Championship record of the night, 1:50.33 – eclipsing the 2017 mark of 1:50.43 established by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrum.
Hungary’s 18-year-old Minna Abraham came through for silver in 1:51.47 with bronze going to Great Britain’s Freya Colbert in 1:51.94.
Italy had already won two golds and a silver from the first three relay races and they maintained their awesome record as Sarah Curtis clocked 22.71 as she brought them home for an even more resounding victory following earlier contributions from Leonardo Deplano (20.97), Lorenzo Zazzeri (20.51) and Silvia Di Pietro (23.07).
Their total thus eclipsed the mark of 1:27.33 set by France in 2022.
Hungary took silver in 1:28.04 ahead of The Netherlands, who clocked 1:28.42 to hold off a Polish quartet that had raised local hopes by qualifying fastest.
Wiffen tracked Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany throughout the men’s 1500m freestyle before moving through for gold with a devastating burst over the final 100 metres.
The 24-year-old Olympic 800m champion, who won the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle titles at the last edition of these Championships at Otopeni in 2023, had said beforehand that he was targeting “at least one gold” here – and he duly secured that with a winning time of 14:13.96.
Wiffen, who took 400m freestyle silver behind Great Britain’s Jack McMillan on day one, was the only swimmer able to keep in touch with Sarkany as the world short course 800m champion went for broke from the start.
With 200 metres remaining the 22-year-old from Budapest was more than a second and a half clear, and as the two men entered the final 100m the lead was still more than a second. But the Irish swimmer was not to be denied.
It was a second win here for Wiffen, who had put a £1 bet on his team-mate John Shortt to take the men’s 200m backstroke title the previous evening.
“It was a very hard race, the pace was very fast so I was struggling a bit in the middle,” he said. “”But I kept a level head throughout and I was able to push at the end so I was very happy.”
Florian Wellbrock, four-times open water swimming gold medallist at this year’s World Aquatics Championships, earned bronze in his return to an event where he set the current world record of 14:06.88 in winning at the 2021 edition of these Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The 28-year-old German held off the dogged challenge of Hungary’s Paris 2024 10km bronze medallist David Betlehem to clock 14:19.26, with the latter swimmer clocking 14:19.65.
The men’s 100m medley was the only title to get away from Ponti at Otopeni two years ago, where he won silver, and tonight he put that right – although only just.
The 24-year-old Swiss racer, who has already retained the first of the three butterfly titles he won in Romania, led this race from the start but came under heavy pressure over the final freestyle leg from the French athlete who beat him to world 50m and 100m butterfly this year, Maxime Grousset.
Ponti touched in a Championship record of 50.52, just 0.01 ahead of his French rival, with bronze going to Austria’s Heiko Gigler in 51.60.
“It was good – it was very good,” Ponti said. “It was hard – but it was very good. I was ready to go 50 point and I was able to do that and I was able to get the job done.”
Grousset reflected a little ruefully: “It was a good race but to lose on just a very close margin with Noe was tough. But I love this battle and I hope the next race will be mine!”
Scott earned men’s 200m freestyle gold after holding off the challenge of his team-mate in successive Olympic and world 4x200m freestyle victories, Jack McMillan.
The 28-year-old Glaswegian took over the lead after two lengths and was never headed, finishing in 1:40.54, with McMillan, who had won his first individual title in day one’s 400m freestyle, adding a silver in 1:40.94.
To widespread home celebration bronze was shared by Poland’s Kamil Sieradzki and Evan Bailey of Ireland, who clocked 1:41.48.
“It’s pretty cool coming 1-2 with my training partner,” said Scott. “He won the 400 and it’s good to be there together on the podium, which is pretty special.
“I get to see what he does day in and day out so I knew he was going to be pretty good at this meet given he way he’s been training. He’s been swimming really well and for him to medal in both events is just class, it’s good to see. He’s been great being part of the team for so long and now we are getting to see him have individual success.”
McMillan added: “We have been training together day in, day out for three years. It’s a great set-up in Sterling and it’s good to come out 1 and 2. That was a big pb for me – winning the 400 at the start of the meeting gave me confidence going into this event. So I’m super happy.”
Ireland’s Elle McCartney headed qualifiers for tomorrow’s women’s 200m breaststroke final in 2:18.81, 0.03 ahead of Great Britain’s Angharad Evans and Anna Elendt of Germany, who clocked 2:19.50.
Spain’s world short course 200m breaststroke champion Carles Coll Marti was swiftest into tomorrow’s men’s 200m breaststroke final in 2:01.91, with world record holder Caspar Corbeau, hoping to add to his 100m breaststroke gold here, second on 2:01.93.
Sweden’s Louise Hansson headed qualifying for tomorrow’s women’s 100m butterfly final in 55.39, while the fastest swimmer into the men’s final was Ponti on 48.82.
Great Britain’s Laura Cox was fastest qualifier for tomorrow’s women’s 100m backstroke final in 56.52 from Germany’s Nina Holt, who clocked 56.60. The men’s 100m backstroke final also had a Briton qualifying fastest in the form of Oliver Morgan, who recorded 49.62, with Miroslav Knedla of the Czech Republic on 49.80.
In the morning session Britain’s 18-year-old European and world junior champion Filip Nowacki qualified second fastest in the men’s 200m breaststroke heats in a European junior record of 2:03.75 behind the 2:03.32 from Spain’s world short course champion Carles Coll Marti and one place ahead of Dutch world record holder Caspar Corbeau on 2:03.87.
Germany’s Isabel Gose, who won the women’s 400m freestyle title on day one in a European and Championship record, was fastest qualifier for tomorrow’s 800m freestyle in 8.13.70 with Italy’s 400m silver medallist Simona Quadarella second in 8:14.99.
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
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