Imagine the thrill of watching two rising stars obliterate their country's records in a single morning session – that's exactly what happened in the men's 400 IM prelims at the 2025 European Short Course Championships, leaving fans buzzing about the finals showdown ahead. If you're new to swimming, the 400 IM, or Individual Medley, is a grueling four-lap race that tests versatility across all strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle in a 25-meter pool, which is what 'short course meters' or SCM means. It's all about endurance and technique, and today in Lublin, Poland, Jakub Bursa from the Czech Republic and Lucas Henveaux from Belgium turned heads by not just qualifying for the top eight but rewriting history in the process.
The championships are running from December 2 to 7, 2025, right here in Lublin – a city that's becoming a hotspot for aquatic sports. You can dive into all the action via the Meet Central page at https://europeanaquatics.org/swimming-short-course-lublin-2025/ for schedules and updates. Psych sheets, which list all the entries and seed times, are available at https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/EntryList202511251343.pdf. For live results, head over to https://www.omegatiming.com/2025/european-aquatics-short-course-swimming-championships-live-results. And if you want real-time recaps to feel like you're poolside, check out the prelims coverage: Day 1 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-short-course-championships-day-one-prelims-live-recap/), Day 2 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-2-prelims-live-recap/), Day 3 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-3-prelims-live-recap/), Day 4 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-4-prelims-live-recap/), Day 5 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-5-prelims-live-recap/), and Day 6 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-6-prelims-live-recap/). Finals recaps are just as detailed: Day 1 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-1-finals-live-recap/), Day 2 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-2-finals-live-recap/), Day 3 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-3-finals-live-recap/), Day 4 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-4-finals-live-recap/), and Day 5 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-5-finals-live-recap/).
Before we get into the excitement, let's set the stage with the benchmarks. The world record (WR) in the men's 400 IM stands at an astonishing 3:54.81, set by Japan's Daiya Seto (https://swimswam.com/bio/daiya-seto/) back in 2019 – a time that's like the gold standard for IM swimmers worldwide. The world junior record (WJR), European record (ER), and European junior record (EJR) are all held by Russia's Ilia Borodin (https://swimswam.com/tag/ilia-borodin/) at 3:56.47 from 2021, showing just how dominant he was in his prime. The championship record (CR) here belongs to Italy's Alberto Razzetti (https://swimswam.com/bio/alberto-razzetti/) with 3:57.01 from 2023, set at the previous edition in these very short-course conditions.
Now, onto the top eight qualifiers who punched their tickets to tonight's final – these guys are the elite of the elite:
- Jakub Bursa (https://swimswam.com/tag/jakub-bursa/) (CZE) – 4:04.68 Q
- Lucas Henveaux (https://swimswam.com/tag/lucas-henveaux/) (BEL) – 4:05.04 Q
- Diego Mira Albaladejo (https://swimswam.com/tag/diego-mira-albaladejo/) (ESP) – 4:05.25 Q
- Alberto Razzetti (https://swimswam.com/bio/alberto-razzetti/) (ITA) – 4:05.29 Q
- Max Litchfield (https://swimswam.com/bio/max-litchfield/) (GBR) – 4:05.47 Q
- Cedric Buessing (https://swimswam.com/tag/cedric-buessing/) (GER) – 4:05.91 Q
- Zalan Sarkany (https://swimswam.com/tag/zalan-sarkany/) (HUN) – 4:06.98 Q
- Thomas Jansen (https://swimswam.com/tag/thomas-jansen/) (NED) – 4:07.73 Q
The real story, though, is how the top two – Bursa and Henveaux – didn't just qualify; they demolished their national records in dramatic fashion. For 22-year-old Jakub Bursa, this marked his debut final at these championships, and he stormed to the fastest time of 4:04.68 in the opening heat of the circle seeding (that's the way heats are arranged to ensure fair competition, with slower swimmers first). Meanwhile, Henveaux sliced a whopping 3.52 seconds off Belgium's previous best with his 4:05.04, proving that records are made to be broken – especially when you're in peak form.
Let's break down Bursa's swim, because it's a masterclass in pacing. He led off strong with a 1:59.53 for the first 200 meters (butterfly and backstroke), then powered through the breaststroke and freestyle in 2:05.15 to finish. This new mark shaved his old Czech record of 4:07.27, which he'd set just last December at the Slovak Cup – a domestic meet that often serves as a testing ground for international stars. And get this: it's his second national record at this meet alone. Earlier, in the 200 IM heats, he dipped under his prior best by six-tenths to hit 1:54.79, and even after adding a bit in the semis to 1:55.01, he still placed ninth overall. For beginners, think of it like this – the 200 IM is half the distance, so improving there builds confidence for the longer 400.
To see just how much sharper he was today, here's a side-by-side of his splits from that 2024 Slovak Cup final versus today's prelims:
Split Comparison
Split | 2024 Slovak Cup – final | 2025 European Short Course Championships – prelims
100 | 57.15 | 56.45
200 | 2:00.79 (1:03.64) | 1:59.53 (1:03.08)
300 | 3:09.49 (1:08.70) | 3:07.61 (1:08.08)
400 | 4:07.27 (57.78) | 4:04.68 (57.01)
He shaved about six to seven tenths off each 100-meter segment, showing balanced improvement across strokes – a sign he's ready to chase more. This performance catapults him to the 10th spot on the 2025-2026 SCM men's 400 IM world rankings, right behind powerhouses like Carson Foster from the USA (3:58.18 on October 19) and Japan's Kaito Tatsumi (4:00.59 on October 18). The full top 15 looks like this:
- [Unnamed leader, presumably Daiya Seto or similar]
- Carson Foster (USA) – 3:58.18 (10/19)
- Kaito Tatsumi (JPN) – 4:00.59 (10/18)
- Raito Numata (JPN) – 4:00.93 (10/18)
- Alberto Razzetti (ITA) – 4:01.53 (10/25)
- Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN) – 4:01.82 (10/12)
- Max Litchfield (GBR) – 4:02.87 (10/25)
- Brendon Smith (AUS) – 4:03.10 (10/25)
- Lewis Clareburt (NZL) – 4:03.66 (10/12)
- Jakub Bursa (CZE) – 4:04.68 (12/07)
- Diego Mira Albaladejo (ESP) – 4:04.83 (11/13)
- Maksim Stupin (RUS) – 4:04.91 (11/11)
- Darius Stefan Coman (ROU) – 4:05.03 (11/13)
- Lucas Henveaux (BEL) – 4:05.04 (12/07)
- Cedric Bussing (GER) – 4:05.91 (12/07)
For the full top 26, check out https://swimswam.com/ranking/2025-2026-scm-men-400-im/. But here's where it gets controversial: with Bursa now in the top 10 globally, is he the next big thing from Eastern Europe, or will the established stars like Razzetti pull away in the final? It's a debate worth having.
Shifting gears, this morning's session wasn't just about individual heroics – the Czech men's 4x50 medley relay team also crushed their national record by over two and a half seconds, clocking 1:32.53 to snag second place for the final. The old mark of 1:35.18 dated back to 2012 in Chartres, where that squad earned bronze. Relays like this are team efforts that amplify individual strengths, and today's lineup showed serious speed:
Split Comparison
Split | 2012 European Short Course Championships – final | 2025 European Short Course Championships – prelims
Backstroke | Martin Badura – 24.51 | Miroslav Knedla (https://swimswam.com/tag/miroslav-knedla/) – 22.87
Breaststroke | Petr Bartunek (https://swimswam.com/tag/petr-bartunek/) – 26.70 | Matej Zabojnik (https://swimswam.com/tag/matej-zabojnik/) – 26.29
Butterfly | Michael Ledl – 22.97 | Daniel Gracik (https://swimswam.com/tag/daniel-gracik/) – 22.38
Freestyle | Tomas Plevko – 21.20 | Jan Foltyn (https://swimswam.com/tag/jan-foltyn/) – 20.99
Total | 1:35.18 | 1:32.53
What's even more impressive? Every swimmer on this relay has broken individual Czech records at this meet. For example, Miroslav Knedla smashed the 100 back in both heats (49.99) and final (49.80), plus the 100 IM final at 51.71. Matej Zabojnik hit new bests in 100 breast semis (57.38) and 200 breast heats (2:04.57). Daniel Gracik owned the 50 fly semis at 22.38, and Jan Foltyn flew to 21.35 in 50 free heats. It's like a record-breaking factory over there!
Back to the 400 IM, Henveaux finished right on Bursa's heels in his heat, setting his second Belgian record of the season at 4:05.04. His earlier mark was 4:08.56 from the October World Cup in Westminster, meaning he's trimmed over five seconds off the national standard this year alone – talk about progression. Like Bursa, he hit 1:59.53 at the 200-meter wall, but his breaststroke leg was a tad slower, offset by a blistering freestyle finish of 55.89 seconds, the quickest in the field and one of just two under 57. For context, that final sprint can make or break an IM race, turning a good swim into a great one.
Henveaux now sits 14th worldwide this season and is firing on all cylinders in Lublin. Earlier, he narrowly missed medals in the 400 free and 200 free – events where he defended his European short course bronze and World short course bronze, respectively. But last night, he bounced back with silver in the 800 free, setting a massive new Belgian record. And this is the part most people miss: despite those near-misses, his consistency across distances makes him a real threat for the podium here.
Compared to his prior record, Henveaux started a touch slower but ramped up the speed:
Split Comparison
Split | 2025 World Cup – Westminster | 2025 European Short Course Championships – prelims
100 | 55.42 | 55.35
200 | 1:59.28 (1:03.86) | 1:59.53 (1:04.18)
300 | 3:10.65 (1:11.37) | 3:09.15 (1:09.62)
400 | 4:08.56 (57.91) | 4:05.04 (55.89)
He was slightly behind at halfway but surged 1.48 seconds ahead after breaststroke and 3.52 seconds overall. Belgium's having a stealthy strong meet, with four silvers already: Henveaux in 800 free, Florine Gaspard (https://swimswam.com/tag/florine-gaspard/) in 100 breast, and Roos Vanotterdijk (https://swimswam.com/tag/roos-vanotterdijk/) in 50 fly and 100 IM. That's just one shy of their record haul from 2015, when Pieter Timmers (https://swimswam.com/bio/pieter-timmers/) grabbed silvers in 100/200 free, Glenn Surgeloose (https://swimswam.com/tag/glenn-surgeloose/) added bronze in 200 free, and Fanny Lecluyse (https://swimswam.com/tag/fanny-lecluyse/) snagged bronze in 50 breast and gold in 200 breast – one of only three Belgian golds in European short course history.
Key figures in this tale include Alberto Razzetti (https://swimswam.com/bio/alberto-razzetti/), Daiya Seto (https://swimswam.com/bio/daiya-seto/), Max Litchfield (https://swimswam.com/bio/max-litchfield/), and Pieter Timmers (https://swimswam.com/bio/pieter-timmers/), whose legacies add depth to the competition.
But let's stir the pot a bit: is Henveaux's rapid improvement a sign that smaller nations like Belgium are closing the gap on swimming giants, or is it just a flash in the pan? And with Bursa eyeing Czechia's second medal after Jan Cejka's (https://swimswam.com/tag/jan-cejka/) 200 back bronze, who do you see taking gold tonight? Share your predictions and thoughts in the comments – agreement, disagreement, all welcome!
