19-Year-Old Antonio Djakovic Lowers Swiss Record in 200 Free with 1:45.32 in Semis

2022 EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, August 11 – Wednesday, August 17, 2022 (pool swimming)
• Rome, Italy
• Parco Del Foro Italico
• LCM (50m)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:00 am local / 3:00 am ET
  • Finals: 6:00 pm local / 12:00 pm ET
• Meet Central
• Event Schedule
• Entries
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet

Antonio Djakovic lowered his own Swiss national record in the 200-meter freestyle semifinals on Sunday as the 19-year-old eyes his first major international medal at the long-course level in Monday’s final. 

Djakovic clocked a 1:45.32, taking nearly half a second off his previous best from last summer’s Olympics to qualify second behind Romanian sensation David Popovici (1:44.91).

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER (2009)
• European Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER (2009)
• European Championship Record: 1:44.79 – Martin Malyutin, RUS (2021)
• 2020 European Champion: Martin Malyutin, RUS – 1:44.79

Top 8 qualifiers:

1. David Popovici (ROU) — 1:44.91
2. Antonio Djakovic (AUS) — 1:45.32
3. Marco De Tullio (ITA) — 1:45.70
4. Lukas Martens (GER) — 1:46.29
5. Stefano De Cola (ITA) — 1:46.41
6. Felix Auboeck (AUS) — 1:46.60
7. Danas Raspys (LIT) — 1:46.77
8. Dimitrios Markos (GRE) — 1:47.12

Back in Tokyo, Djakovic set a national record by splitting 1:45.77 on the opening leg of Switzerland’s 4×200 free relay team that placed 7th. This time around, most of his improvement came on his second 50, where he shaved .6 seconds off his Olympic relay split. 

Splits comparison

Djakovic was more than a second faster than his semifinal swim at the World Championships in June, where he posted a 1:46.61 and missed the final by half a second. His new personal-best would have placed him seventh in the 200 free final in Budapest. 

Djakovic, the 2019 Euro Junior champion in the 400 free, is seeking his first major international medal at the long-course level after picking up bronze in the 400 free at short-course Worlds last December. He also set a new SCM national record in the 200 free (1:42.47) at that meet. 

He now ranks as the eighth-fastest performer in the world this year. Notably, the Swiss teen is also the third-youngest (behind the top two performers) among the 10 fastest men this year. 

Top 200 Free Performers, 2022

1. David Popovici (ROU), 1:43.21 – World Championships
2. Sunwoo Hwang (KOR), 1:44.47 – World Championships
3. Tom Dean (GBR), 1:44.98 – World Championships
4. Drew Kibler (USA), 1:45.01 – World Championships
5. Duncan Scott (GBR), 1:45.02 – Commonwealth Games
6. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 1:45.11 – World Championships
7. Kieran Smith (USA), 1:45.16 – World Championships
8. Antonio Djakovic (SUI), 1:45.32 – European Championships
9. Lukas Martens (GER), 1:45.44 – Stockholm Open
10. Fernando Scheffer (BRA), 1:45.52 – World Championships