British swimmer Duncan Scott will not compete in the 200m butterfly at the 2026 European Swimming Championships in Paris. This decision comes despite a strong performance at the Aquatics GB Championships in April. There, he recorded a time of 1:54.97. At the Commonwealth Games in July, Scott placed fourth in the same event. His time there was 1:55.85. His absence from the European Championships lineup for this race marks a significant shift in strategy. The 29-year-old athlete is making this change. Ed Mildred will be the sole British representative in the 200m fly. Scott is instead entered in only the men’s 200 IM, the event which he won at the Commonwealth Games last month, and is the #3 seed in 1:55.51. He set that time in the semi-finals at the 2025 World Championships, going on to finish 4th in 1:56.32. His omission from the 200 free is the most surprising, after he placed 3rd at the Aquatics GB Championships in April in a time of 1:45.44. He is the Olympic silver medalist from the Tokyo Games, and won bronze at the 2019 World Championships, but his last European medal was a silver from the 2021 Championships. Scott did miss the final at the Commonwealth Games, placing 10th in 1:47.83, and only delivered a 1:45.58 anchor in the 4×200 free relay for Scotland, 1.63 seconds off the 1:43.95 he clocked for Great Britain last summer. Scott’s absence allows 2021 Olympic Champion Tom Dean to swim the event, entered as the #44 seed in 1:48.03. He placed 8th at the Commonwealth Games in 1:46.86, his fastest swim since 2024, and could be a dark horse to make the final with a lifetime best of 1:44.22 and three major podiums in a row between 2021 and 2023. Dean will also swim the 200 IM, entered in 1:58.80 as the #11 seed, but with a 1:57.22 from the Commonwealth Games that ranks him 3rd-fastest this season among swimmers entered.
Scott was previously expected to defend the event in Paris, as the 200m butterfly has been a key focus for him in recent competitions. His decision to drop the event remains unexplained, but it changes how Great Britain approaches the race. Historically, the nation has had a strong presence in the 200m fly, so this move could signal a recalibration of priorities.
Croatia’s Franko Grgic is another notable name in the entry list. The 23-year-old is the national record holder in the 200m free. He will compete in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles. He will also compete in the 4x200m free relay. This season, Grgic has posted impressive times. Those times are 1:50.91, 3:53.52 and 8:11.05 in those events, respectively. Meanwhile, French champion Leon Marchand will not defend his 200m breaststroke title. He is opting instead to compete in the 200m fly, 200m/400m IM and 400m free. This decision is likely due to his ongoing recovery from a hip injury.
In the women’s division, Swedish sprinter Sarah Sjostrom will compete in the 50m fly and 50m free after giving birth. Great Britain’s Freya Colbert will take on the 400m free, as well as six relay events, reflecting her versatile approach to the competition. She has dropped the 200 IM, in which she was the 3rd-fastest European woman this season in 2:10.48. She is the 4th-fastest European woman in the 400 free this season thanks to a 4:06.16 from March, and also clocked a 4:06.91 at the Aquatics GB Championships. She won bronze in the 400 free at the European Short Course Championships in December, setting a new PB of 3:56.71, and will swim this event at a major meet for the first time since 2023. Her decision to skip the 200 IM is due to the presence of Abbie Wood and Amalie Smith, the fastest two European women this season. With a maximum of two athletes from each country granted passage to the semi-finals, Colbert would have had to beat at least one of those swimmers to even make the semi-finals. The 200 IM final also takes place on the same night as the mixed 4×200 free relay final, in which Great Britain are one of the favorites for gold. Katie Shanahan is the #4 European women in the 200 IM this season and has made the same decision as Colbert, opting to only swim the 100 back and 200 back individually. She won silver in the 200 back at the Commonwealth Games last month in 2:08.54, a time which makes her the fastest European woman this season.
As more details emerge, SwimSwam will continue updating its coverage to highlight any further surprises or key storylines as the event approaches.