Males’s 1,500-meter freestyle world file demolished by Germany’s Johannes Liebmann at Euros

Johannes Liebmann of Germany smashed the boys’s 1,500-meter freestyle world file on Saturday on the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, swimming the longest pool race in 14 minutes, 26.79 seconds to beat the previous mark by practically 4 seconds.

American Bobby Finke had held the file because the 2024 Olympics, when he swam 14:30.67 to win gold, additionally in Paris.

The 19-year-old Liebmann jumped out quick and was forward of Finke’s tempo your entire time. The solely query was whether or not he may stick with it within the latter levels of the space race. At practically each cut up, he prolonged his lead on Finke’s time, main it by 5 seconds heading into the ultimate 50 meters.

🚨 WOOORLD RECORD 🚨

Johannes Liebmann 🇩🇪 is the primary swimmer ever to go beneath 14:30 within the males’s 1500m freestyle pic.twitter.com/cuzhvEocyP

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) August 15, 2026

Liebmann’s key transfer on the file books got here between 400 and 800 meters, accelerating greater than two seconds forward of Finke’s tempo in that span, per SwimSwam.

Liebmann outpaced Hungary’s Zalán Sarkany, who completed in second, by over 60 meters and practically 13 seconds. Sarkany competed collegiately at Indiana, was an eight-time All-American, and broke the NCAA file within the 1,000-yard freestyle earlier this 12 months.

Earlier this week, Liebmann additionally received gold within the 800-meter freestyle, setting a European file of seven:37.59. It was a file Liebmann himself beforehand held.

It’s the second world file to fall this week on the European championships, the largest meet of the 12 months for that continent’s swimmers. Italy’s Sara Curtis broke the 50-meter backstroke world file twice in two days. This week on the Pan Pacific Championships, the corresponding occasion for the highest swimmers within the Americas and Oceania, world data fell within the combined medley relay and the 50-meter freestyle.

Also Saturday, French star Léon Marchand received gold in the one particular person occasion on his program, the 200-meter butterfly. Marchand has an adductor damage and pulled out of his different normal occasions. A four-time Olympic champion in Paris in 2024, he received the 200-meter variations of the butterfly, breaststroke and particular person medley (IM), in addition to the 400-meter IM.