Milak shines, Curtis and Quadarella dazzle and Peaty powers back at Hungarian, Italian and Aquatics GB Championships

Many of the world’s finest swimmers have been in action in recent days in national championships and events offering a pathway to this summer’s European Aquatics Championships in Paris.

Among the outstanding performers were Hungary’s double Olympic butterfly champion Kristof Milak, Britain’s multiple world and Olympic champion breast-stroke specialist Adam Peaty, Italy’s 19-year-old Sara Curtis and Simona Quadarella and Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands.

Milak, who has not raced internationally since winning 100m butterfly gold and 200m butterfly silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, produced an emphatic performance at the Hungarian Swimming Championships in Sopron as he earned four golds.

The 26-year-old from Budapest, who last competed at the 2025 edition of his national championships, began by taking the 100m freestyle title in 48.36 on the second day, electing not to take up his place in the 200m butterfly.

Milák next beat Szebasztián Szabó for the first time in his career to win the 50 butterfly in a personal best of 23.03, with Szabó clocking 23.14.

Having won his 100m butterfly semi-final in 50.93 Milak took the title in 50.22, his seventh fastest time in an event where his personal best, and former European record, is 49.68.

He is now set to face athletes such as Maxime Grousset of France and Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, respective world 100m butterfly gold and silver medallists, at this summer’s European Aquatics Championships in Paris.

Milak returned to the water around 30 minutes later for the 50m freestyle final having posted a 21.76 personal best in the semis and finished the night with a fourth gold after clocking 21.79.

These were also an outstanding Championships for 17-year-old Vivien Jackl, who shared the women’s 200m butterfly title in 2:10.36 before completing the 800m/1500m distance double with respective times of 8:27.88 and 16:20.16, with Ajna Kesely taking silver in both races.

World 800m freestyle short course champion Zalán Sárkány won the 1500 freestyle title in 14:54.05 after pulling away in the final 400 metres from Dávid Betlehem and Kristof Rasovsky, who clocked 14:59.59 and 15:02.62 respectively.

The Championships doubled as trials for the European Championships. Some top performers including Hubert Kós, Nikolett Padar and Minna Abraham didn’t take part although Kós’s performances in the 100 and 200m backstroke at last December’s US Open effectively booked his place.

The Italian Championships at Riccione represented the first opportunity for swimmers to book places at the European Championships, with a second chance set for the Sette Colli meet in Rome in June.

Nineteen-year-old Curtls underlined her credentials as one of he most talented young swimmers in the world as she won four golds in Riccione to set up what promises to be a memorable summer for her in Paris.

Curtis began with a time of 27.33 in the 50m backstroke to take 0.06 off Silvia Scala’s Italian standard of 27.39 that had stood since the 2022 European Championships in Rome.

She then won the women’s 100m freestyle in 53.40 before lowering her national 50m freestyle record to 24.29 in the prelims, thus topping the 2026 world rankings.

Curtis, who is now heading back to her base at the Universiy of Virginia, claimed the fourth title of the meet with a 25.89 personal best in the 50m butterfly.

“Now I will pull the plug for a few days,” she said. “I need to rest and then I will think about the European Championships. I want to arrive in Paris in top condition, because I want to go fast.”

Quadarella completed the distance treble with a dominant 400m freestyle victory in 4:03.59, the second fastest of her career behind the 4:03.35 title-winning time at the 2018 Europeans.

Earlier the 27-year-old three-time world champion had won the 800m in 8:21.01 and the 1500m in 15:55.89, also taking bronze in the 200m freestyle in 1:58.23.

Michele Lamberti booked his Paris 2026 place in fine style by becoming the sole owner of the national 50m backstroke title in 24.38, 0.02 inside the mark set at the 2022 Europeans by Thomas Ceccon which he equalled in 2024.

Lisa Angiolini, 31, won the women’s 200m breaststroke in a national record of 2:22.28.

World 50m breaststroke champion Simone Cerasuolo broke the 59sec barrier for the first time in the 100 breaststroke as he lowered his personal best to 58.82.

Olympic 100m breaststroke champion Nicolo Martinenghi was unable to compete at the Championships due to  injury.

 At the Aquatics GB Championships in the London Aquatics Centre one of the two swimmers who finished 0.02 behind Martinenghi in the Paris 2024 Games, Adam Peaty, produced a similar flourish to Milak as he booked his Paris return with victories in the 50m and 100m breaststroke in only his second long course racing since the Olympics.

Eighteen-year-old Filip Nowacki, the double European and world junior champion, followed Peaty home in both races, clocking 59.39 in the 100m and a personal best of 27.10 in the 50m.

He then took the 200m breaststroke title in 2:08.52, the second fastest time recorded this year.

Elsewhere in the London Aquatics Centre in an event that represented combined trials for the European Aquatics Championships and Glasgow Commonwealth Games there were top class performances from Angharad Evans.

She became the first British woman to break the 2:20 barrier in the 200 breaststroke as she clocked 2:19.70 to take 1.19sec from Molly Renshaw’s 2:20.89 standard from 2021.

And in Sunday’s final session she became the tenth female in history to break the 1:05 barrier in the 100m breaststroke as she recorded 1:04.96.Abbie Wood set the fastest 200m individual medley time of the season in clocking 2:08.17, finishing ahead of the 200m and 400m freestyle champion Freya Colbert.

Matt Richards, the 100m freestyle champion, completed the double as he won the 200m freestyle in 1:44.77, with James Guy second in 1:45.38, Duncan Scott third in 1:45.44 and Jack McMillan fourth in 1:45.91.

Ollie Morgan completed the backstroke treble, winning the 50m and 100m and concluding with a 200m win over Luke Greenbank in 1:55.86.

Meanwhile at the Bergen Swim Festival Germany’s 400m freestyle world champion and record holder Lukas Martens lowered the German 200m backstroke record to 1:55.85 and later won the 200m and 400m freestyle.

Double women’s world 100m freestyle champion Marrit Steenbergen earned victory in the 50m backstroke in 27.75 before winning an epic race against Hong Kong’s multiple world medallist Siobhan Haughey in the women’s 100m freestyle, clocking a 2026 season best of 52.33, with her opponent clocking 52.40.

Steenbergen then took the 200m individual medley in 2:11.60 before concluding with a share of the 50m freestyle title as she and Czechia’s Barbora Janickova clocked 24.81.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

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