Ukrainian swimmer Mykyta Sheremet wins 50m freestyle gold at European Championships

Ukrainian swimmer Mykyta Sheremet won the 50m freestyle final at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships on 16 August, finishing in 21.13 seconds and breaking the Ukrainian national record in the process. The result gave Ukraine its first swimming medal of this year's championships.

Fellow Ukrainian Vladyslav Bukhov placed fifth in the same final, clocking 21.58 seconds. Both swimmers had won their heats in the semi-finals a day earlier, where Sheremet matched the national record previously held by Bukhov before going on to break it himself in the final.

Breaststroke swimmers reflect on their results

The day before Sheremet's victory, Ukrainian swimmers Stepan Babenko and Volodymyr Lisovets discussed their performances in the 50m breaststroke final, where they finished fourth and fifth respectively. Both said they remain committed to improving and raising the overall level of Ukrainian swimming.

Lisovets noted that he and Babenko had exchanged the national record between them over the two days of competition and said he expects their rivalry to continue. Babenko, who took the national record from Lisovets with a time of 26.72 seconds before finishing fourth in the final, acknowledged making several mistakes during the race but said he was satisfied with the overall outcome.