2021 LEN EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, November 2nd – Sunday, November 7th
- Aquatics Palace, Kazan Russia
- SCM (25m)
- Prelims recap
- Results
Hungarian swimmer Szebasztian Szabo broke the SC European Championships record in the 50 fly with a time of 22.00.
Szabo set the record during the semifinals of the event at the 2021 SC European Championships. His time broke the previous record of 22.07, set by German swimmer Johannes Dietrich in 2009. The meet record time is slightly slower than Szabo’s best time of 21.86, set in 2020 at Match 6 of the International Swimming League’s regular season. His best time is also the Hungarian SCM record for the 50 fly.
The Hungarian has posted some top performances at this year’s championships so far. He was the upset winner in the men’s 100 fly on Wednesday, and he became the first-ever Hungarian to win a SC Euros gold in the 50 free with his time of 20.72.
He’s also shown a strong history with the 50 fly. At the FINA World Cup stop in Kazan, Szabo won the 50 fly with a time of 21.97, putting an end to American Tom Shields’ dominance in the event.
Szabo’s consistent performances at or below the 22-second mark put him within tenths of a second of the World Record. The record currently belongs to Brazil’s Nicholas Santos, who in 2018 swam the event in 21.75.
With his time, Szabo is first heading into the SC Euros final, ahead of swimmers like Thomas Ceccon and Matteo Rivolta.