Day three of the European Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships Hungary 2026 brought the 3km Knockout events to Lake Velence on Saturday, with four fiercely contested finals across two age groups producing some of the tightest racing of the week so far, headlined by a Hungarian clean sweep of the podium in the Boys’ 14-16 event at the Katalin Kovacs National Kayak Academy.
The knockout format, now a firm fixture on the junior open water calendar, again delivered drama in stages, with heats and semifinals whittling the fields down before the medals were decided over a rapid 500m dash to the line.
Zeteny Sarkany added a second gold of the Championships to his collection, following up Friday’s Boys’ 5km J1 title with victory in the Boys’ Knockout 14-16 in 5:01.74.
The brother of world champion Zalan Sarkany was never troubled in the final, and behind him it was an all-Hungarian podium, with Armand Attila Marosszeki taking silver in 5:04.15 and Zsombor Huba Varga completing the sweep in bronze, 2.95 seconds back. Turkey’s Cemil Cankat Er was the closest challenger from outside the host nation, finishing fourth.
In the Girls’ Knockout 14-16, Italy’s Sofia Biagi took the title in 5:18.44, having gone relatively under the radar in the previous rounds. Hungary’s Anna Bartalos backed up her bronze from the 7.5km event on day one with silver this time, 2.06 seconds behind, while France’s Rosalie Mesmacque claimed bronze.
Russia’s Anastasiia Siniakova, who had topped the first round, was edged into fourth in the final following a dramatic final few metres as they came into the funnel.
The older age group’s knockout sprints produced two more compelling storylines. France’s Ethan Parker, who had claimed bronze in Thursday’s Boys’ 10km J3, went one better in the Boys’ 3km Knockout Sprint, winning gold in 4:52.90 after a stunning display of gamesmanship.
The Frechman was less than a tenth of a second away from being knocked out of the event following a five-way dash for the pads in the second semifinal, but he mamaged to sneak in for fourth and then blow away the field down the final 100 metres to take the title.
Germany’s 800m European record holder Johannes Liebmann, who recently spoke to European Aquatics ahead of Paris 2026, took silver, 1.55 seconds back, while Hungary’s Mate Karpati claimed bronze on home soil, just 0.21 seconds ahead of Greece’s Vasileios Kakoulakis in fourth.
Germany’s Julia Ackermann claimed her first title of the week in the Girls’ 3km Knockout Sprint, winning in 5:20.92 to hold off Russia’s Varvara Kharchenko. Polina Koziakina, who had won the Girls’ 10km J3 on day one, added a bronze to her tally, with Hungary’s Napsugar Nagy finishing fourth.
With the knockout events now complete, attention turns to the mixed team relays on Sunday, which will bring the curtain down on the Championships and decide the final standings for the coveted team trophy.
Click here to access the event page, which includes live results and start lists.
Click here to watch all of the action on EuroAquaticsTV.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics