In Paris, at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships, the Ukrainian national team demonstrated an outstanding result in the 50-meter breaststroke discipline. In the final race, which turned into a real battle for medals, Ukrainian athletes Stepan Babenko and Volodymyr Lisovets took fourth and fifth places, respectively. This event became historic: for the first time in several years, Ukraine represented two swimmers in the final of the senior European Championship in this distance.
Final showdown: 0.1 seconds from the podium
The final race gave spectators an exciting struggle. Stepan Babenko finished fourth with a time of 26.72 seconds, losing to the bronze medalist by just 0.10 seconds. Third place went to Italian Simone Cerasuolo, who showed a time of 26.82 seconds (the time matched the silver, but he lost on additional indicators). The European Championship gold was won by another Italian representative, Nicolò Martinenghi, with a result of 26.57 seconds. Volodymyr Lisovets, showing a time of 26.78 seconds, took fifth place. Both Ukrainians finished with a result that became a new national record.
Historical record changes during a single tournament
Particular attention deserves the dynamics of Ukraine's records in the 50-meter breaststroke. As late as May, the best result in the country's history was considered Stepan Babenko's achievement — 27.00 seconds. However, in the semi-finals of the European Championship, Volodymyr Lisovets swam the distance in 26.84 seconds, overtaking his teammate and setting a new record. But in the main race, Babenko again took the lead, showing 26.72 seconds. Thus, Ukraine's record changed twice during one tournament, and its authors were two swimmers who ultimately ended up in the top 5 of the final together.
Personal progress and athletes' emotions
For Stepan Babenko, this became a logical continuation of rapid progress. Just a few months ago, his national record was 27.00 seconds, and now the Ukrainian has already crossed the 26.80 mark. The athlete himself admitted that he did not expect to update the national record in the final, as before the race he did not feel as good as in the semi-finals. "I am very pleased with this result. I didn't expect it to turn out this way. I swam in the semi-finals — I felt the water much better and felt very good. And now not so much, but somehow improved the result, I don't know," Babenko said in a comment to Suspilne Sport.
Lisovets' view: mistakes and achievements
Volodymyr Lisovets noted that his mistakes prevented him from performing better. At the same time, the swimmer is satisfied with the result. "We did everything 100%. I won't say that I felt very good, and I made a few mistakes. It could have been better, but we have fourth and fifth places — that is a very good result," the Ukrainian noted. For Lisovets, this was already the second final of the continental championship in his career – in 2022 he took seventh place. Babenko reached the decisive race of the senior Euro for the first time.
Additional achievements of the Ukrainian national team
At the same championship, another record among Ukrainian swimmers was set by Mykyta Sheremet, who successfully qualified for the semi-finals of the 50-meter freestyle. This indicates that the Ukrainian swimming national team is in a stage of active development and progress, demonstrating high results on the international arena.
