Katarzyna Wasick wins European gold in 50m freestyle, sets Polish record in Paris

Gold in Paris

Katarzyna Wasick won the 50m freestyle final at the European Swimming Championships in Paris on Saturday, 15 August, touching the wall in 23.84 seconds. The time established a new Polish national record, improving on her own previous mark by 0.11 seconds. The 34-year-old, who trains in the United States and was the oldest swimmer in the field, reached the final after posting 24.08 seconds in the semifinal, the third-fastest time of her career. In the final she swam faster, leaving behind the pre-race favourite.

Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem, the reigning Olympic champion over the distance, finished second in 23.86 seconds, just two hundredths behind Wasick. Italy's Sara Curtis claimed bronze in 23.99 seconds. Television cameras captured Wasick's disbelief when she saw the scoreboard, and she exclaimed "O Boże!" after realising what she had accomplished.

Career milestone

The gold is Wasick's first individual European title on a long course (50-metre pool). She previously won silver in this same event in 2020 and 2022. Her earlier European golds came on short course: last year she triumphed in the 50m freestyle in Lublin, and in 2019 she was part of Poland's winning 4x50m medley relay in Glasgow. She also holds silver and bronze medals from the World Championships. At these championships in Paris, Wasick had competed in the butterfly event earlier, treating it as a warmup before the 50m freestyle, which proved to be her main event.

Poland's medal tally

Wasick's gold is Poland's second medal of the championships in Paris. On Wednesday, 12 August, Justina Kozan took bronze in the 400m individual medley. Poland's tally of one gold and one bronze places the team 13th in the medal standings. Great Britain leads with 6 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze, followed by Italy with 5-4-6 and neutral athletes with 4-4-6. The swimming portion of the championships runs until Sunday, with 43 medal sets in total. Earlier in the French capital, competitors in artistic swimming, diving, and open-water swimming had already contested their events.

Prize money

The championships operate on a fixed prize structure. Wasick earned 2,000 euro (approximately 8,615 zloty) for her gold medal. Sjoestroem received 1,500 euro (6,461 zloty) for silver, and Curtis 1,000 euro (4,307 zloty) for bronze. A world record would have been worth 10,000 euro, and a European record 5,000 euro. Wasick's time of 23.84 seconds, while a Polish record, did not approach either of those thresholds.