2026 European Swimming Championships
The speed continued into day five prelims of the 2026 European Swimming Championships, with a new national record being established by field-leading Simone Cerasuolo in the men’s 50m breaststroke.
The 23-year-old stopped the clock at a super swift result of 26.20 to lead a pack of seven men to all have delved under the 27-second threshold on the morning.
Cerasuolo’s outing represents not only a lifetime best but also a new Italian national record, overwriting the former benchmark of 26.27 Ludovico Blu Art Viberti put on the books at the 2025 Sette Colli Trophy.
Entering this competition, Cerasuolo’s quickest-ever performance in this 50m breast rested at the 26.42 he put up during the heats of the 2025 World Championships, so he hacked .22 off that prior swim. There in Singapore, the Italian ultimately won the gold in a time of 26.54 to claim his first individual long course world title.
Cerasuolo now ranks as the #2 performer in history, tying Olympic medalist and multi-world champion Qin Haiyang of China.
Top 5 Men’s LCM 50 Breaststroke Performers All-Time
- Adam Peaty (GBR) – 25.95, 2017
- Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 26.20, 2023 & Simone Cerasuolo (ITA) – 26.20, 2026
- –
- Ludovico Blu Art Viberti (ITA) – 26.27, 2025
- Ilya Shymanovich (BLR) – 26.28, 2023
Of note, reigning World Record holder Adam Ramsay-Peaty of Great Britain found himself well outside the top 16, settling for 20th place this morning in a pedestrian 27.34.
Additionally, former record holder Viberti fell victim to the ‘two swimmers per nation’ rule, whereby just two Italian swimmers could move on to tonight’s semi-finals. With Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi logging 25.65 behind Cerasuolo, it was Viberti who was left out of the lineup. This rule may account for how swift Cerasuolo indeed was out of the heats, ensuring he would move onto the next round.
Men’s 50m Breaststroke Heats
- World Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2017)
- European Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2017)
- Championship Record: 26.21 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2021)
- 2025 World Champion: Simone Cerasuolo (ITA), 26.51
- 2024 European Champion: Emre Sakci (TUR), 26.92
Top 16 Qualifiers:
- Simone CERASUOLO (ITA) – 26.20
- Nicolo MARTINENGHI (ITA) – 26.65
- Melvin IMOUDU (GER) – 26.84
- Koen DE GROOT (NED) – 26.85
- Ilya SHYMANOVICH (NAA) – 26.89
- Ivan KOZHAKIN (NAB) – 26.96
- Kirill PRIGODA (NAB) – 26.99
- Valentin BAYER (AUT) – 27.06
- Stepan BABENKO (UKR) – 27.08
- Nusrat ALLAHVERDI (TUR) – 27.12
- Jan Malte GRAFE (GER) – 27.15
- Carl AITKACI (FRA) – 27.17
- Luka MLADENOVIC (AUT) – 27.22
- Volodymyr LISOVETS (UKR) – 27.23
- Andrius SIDLAUSKAS (LTU) – 27.26
- Aleksas SAVICKAS (LTU) – 27.29
