Bulgarian swimmers ended their participation in the heats during the second competition day of European Swimming Championships in Paris 2026.
Despite the strong desire to qualify for the next phase of the championship, none of our competitors managed to find a place in the semifinals or finals in the morning session on August 11.
The most impressive performance among the Bulgarians was made by Daren Kirilov, who registered a new personal best in the 200-meter backstroke. He went below the 1:59 minute mark for the first time, stopping the chronometers at 1:58.87 minutes. This serious result gave him 25th place in the final standings. The heats in this discipline were won by the 18-year-old Frenchman Nathan Muratori, who set a new world record for juniors with a time of 1:54.87 minutes.
In the women's 100-meter breaststroke, Bulgaria was represented by two competitors. Diana Petkova gave the 29th time in the qualifications with a result of 1:09.46 minutes. Our other representative Teya Nikolova finished in 43rd position, recording a time of 1:14.24 minutes. The fastest in the heats was Britain's Angharad Evans, who set a new championship record with a time of 1:05.45 minutes.
In the men's 100-meter freestyle, the home-grown debutants at a major sports forum Miroslav Terziev and Vasil Tushev also had no chance against the European competition and failed to pass through the series.
The European Swimming Championships in the French capital continue until August 16. All the most interesting finals and swims can be followed live on BNT 3.