Young talent turns golden on Lublin 2025 day 2 as Shortt, Damborg and Jefimova excel

Three super-talented 18-year-olds earned gold on day two of the European Aquatics Short Course Championships Lublin 2025, with John Shortt of Ireland and Denmark’s Martine Damborg securing first senior titles and Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova retaining the one she earned two years ago.

Elsewhere on another evening of high excitement in the Aqua Lublin arena Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, defending three titles here, retained the first of them, the men’s 50m butterfly, in imperious fashion and Caspar Corbeau of The Netherlands earned his first senior gold as he won the men’s 100m breaststroke.

And in the concluding event the hosts secured their third relay medal in as many finals as they came home in 1:03.98 for bronze in the mixed 4x50m medley behind Italy, who clocked a Championship record of 1:36.09, and The Netherlands, who claimed silver in 1:36.18

Shortt concluded an escalatingly successful 2025 season by earning his first senior gold in a Championship and world junior record time of 1:47.89 in the men’s 200m backstroke final.

With 50m remaining gold appeared to be heading for the French athlete who had held the lead from the start, Mewen Tomac, bronze medallist in this event at Otopeni two years ago.

But Shortt, whose season began with the disappointment of losing his European junior 200m backstroke title – when he struggled to orientate himself in the outdoor glare of Samorin – timed his final challenge perfectly to finish his year on a high and send the Irish flags flying all around the stands.

The Galway athlete’s strength of character was evident in the way he responded to his initial setback by winning the European junior 100m backstroke title before securing a golden double at the World Junior Championships. Now he has made his mark in the big league.

“It’s a big step forward to get not just a medal but a gold medal in a senior Championships,” Shortt told European Aquatics.

“So I’m kind of stepping up onto the big stage now. I’m ecstatic at the moment, and just very proud to be representing Ireland here.”

Damborg, who had reached tonight’s women’s 50m butterfly with successive European junior records of 25.20 and 25.06, lowered that mark to 24.61 – just 0.06 off the world junior record – as she secured her first senior international title.

She came away from this summer’s EA Junior Swimming Championships with two golds and two silvers and her progression has been swift.

Damborg held off the challenge of another swiftly rising talent, Belgium’s 20-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk, who won the European U23 title in this event this summer and who claimed silver here in 24.84, with bronze going to France’s Beryl Gasteldello in 24.93.

“I am very happy with my swim,” Damborg said. “I didn’t think it would be so fast.”

Jefimova, who won the senior European 100m breaststroke title last year, retained her European short course version in a Championship record of 1:02.82.

Silver went to Florine Gaspard of Belgium in 1:03.73, with Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko taking bronze in 1:03.90.

“I’m really proud of myself,” Jefimova said. “I wanted to win it twice and I managed to do it. When I saw the time I was like ‘Oh my God!’”

Ponti was untouchable in the men’s 50m butterfly final, his red cap forging into the lead in the closing half of the race before he touched in 21.54 – not far off his world record of 21.32.

The 24-year-old racer thus earned a measure of revenge against the French athlete who beat him to the 50m and 100m butterfly world long course titles this summer, Maxime Grousset, who took bronze in 21.99 behind Hungary’s Szebaztian Szabo, who clocked 21.89.

“I’m very happy again with 21.5,” Ponti said. “At he beginning of this season I wasn’t able to swim this fast and so I am happy that I was able to win the 50 fly again.”

Corbeau, the 100m breaststroke bronze medallist at Otopeni 2023 and a short course world record breaker in the men’s 200m breaststroke in October, had won his opening heat in 55.54, just 0.26 off the short course world record set by Ilya Shymanovich of Belarus in 2021.

He was almost as fast tonight, closing in 55.85 to finish well clear of silver medallist Emre Sakci, Turkiye’s 50m breaststroke short course world record holder, who clocked 56.22, and bronze medallist Luka Mladenovic of Austria, who finished in 56.27.

“A win’s a win, so I am very happy with that,” Corbeau said. “I can never be dissatisfied with becoming a champion. The time is not exactly what I had in mind but it was just another learning experience.

“A lot of those guys are really good 50/100 swimmers so they have a lot of opening speed. I’m more of a 200 guy so I know that I’m able to close pretty well, so I was able to concentrate on my strengths and I got it done.”

Twenty-one-year-old Carmen Weiler earned Spain’s first medal of these Championships in the women’s 200m backstroke – and a time of 2:01.66 ensured it was golden.

The Singapore-based Paris 2024 semi-finalist and former European junior champion took the lead early and never let go. Great Britain’s 21-year-old Katie Shanahan, fifth in the Paris 2024 200m backstroke, claimed silver in 2:02.79 ahead of France’s Pauline Mahieu, who took bronze in 2:03.02.

There was relative disappointment for Lublin’s own European 200m backstroke long champion Adela Piskorska, who finished eighth.

Great Britain’s Freya Colbert headed the qualifiers for tomorrow’s women’s 200m freestyle final, clocking 1:51.94 to finish more than a second clear of the Dutch double world 100m freestyle champion Marrit Steenberg, who clocked 1:53.35.

Great Britain was to the fore also in the men’s 200m freestyle semi-finals, where Duncan Scott tied with Belgium’s Lucas Henveaux on 1:41.56 ahead of his team-mate Jack McMillan, winner of a first senior title on day one, who clocked 1:41.69.

Steenbergen’s busy evening continued as she finished fastest qualifier for the women’s 100m medley in 57.96, just 0.01 ahead of the Czech Republic’s Barbora Janickova.

Ponti also had further business to attend to, qualifying fastest for tomorrow’s men’s 100m medley final in 51.24 ahead of Grousset’s 51.37.

Earlier in the day Hungary’s world short course 800m champion Zalan Sarkany clocked 14:23.95 to top qualifying for what promises to be a riveting men’s 1500m freestyle final.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

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