Kristóf Milák wins men's 100m butterfly gold Paris; European record 49.48

Kristóf Milák wins men’s 100m butterfly gold Paris; European record 49.48

European Aquatics Championships 2026: Kristóf Milák smashes European record en route to men’s 100m butterfly gold

The Paris 2024 Olympic champion adds European 100m butterfly gold to the 100m freestyle bronze he earned on Wednesday.

Hungarian Olympic champion swimmer Kristóf Milák showed his class in the men’s 100 metres butterfly on Thursday (13 August), setting a new continental record of 49.48 to win gold at the European Aquatics Championships 2026 in Paris.

Reigning world champion Maxime Grousset , who held the top European mark in the event (49.62) prior to Milák’s win, was second in 49.70. Switzerland’s Noè Ponti took bronze in 49.93.

The 26-year-old’s swim also erased his own championship record of 50.18 from 2021, moving him to second on the all-time list, 0.03 outside the 49.45 world record Caeleb Dressel set in 2021. Milák split 23.19 and 26.29, turning behind Grousset, who opened in 22.97 before fading over the closing metres.

Milák had previously broken 50 seconds only twice: his former personal best of 49.68 for silver behind Dressel at Tokyo 2020 , and the 49.90 that earned him gold at Paris 2024 . Thursday was the third sub-50 swim of his career.

Hubert Kós took fourth in 50.25, while Edward Mildred placed fifth in 51.06.

Milák’s gold comes a day after he set a lifetime best of 46.87 to win 100m freestyle bronze, continuing a season he has described as a rebuild after missing last year’s championship campaign.

31 July - 16 August

European Aquatics Championships | Paris | France