Petar Mitsin Sets WJR Of 3:44.31 In 400 Free At European Juniors: Lowers Mack Horton’s 2014 Mark
Petar Mitsin set a 400 free world junior record of 3:44.31 at the European Juniors to eclipse Rio 2016 Olympic champion Mack Horton‘s standard that had stood since 2014.
Horton went 3:44.60 in Brisbane, Australia, in April 2014, eight months after winning the world junior title.
The Bulgarian went fourth in the world with his performance as he completed the 200-400-800 treble which also featured a championship record of 7:47.45 in the longest race and 1:46.50 over four lengths, all of them national standards.
It also lowered Lorenzo Galossi‘s European junior mark of 3:45.93 in Riccione in April 2022 and took down Yannick Agnel‘s European Juniors CR of 3:46.26 that stood since July 2010.
His 400 would have earned Mitsin bronze at last year’s European Championships in Rome and sixth at the 2022 worlds in Budapest.
Splits: 26.05/54.31 (28.26)/1:22.71 (28.40)/1:51.00 (28.29)/2:19.27 (28.27)/2:47.91 (28.64)/3:16.36 (28.45)/3:44.31 (27.95).
Alessandro Ragaini was second in 3:48.42 with Vlad Stancu claiming his third medal of the 2023 European Juniors in 3:50.21.
2023 Rankings
3:42.46: Sam Short, Australian Championships, 17 April 2023
3:43.32: Lukas Martens, 32nd International Gothaer & Friends Meet, 1 April 2023
3:43.48: Elijah Winnington, Australian National Trials, 13 June 2023
3:44.31: Petar Mitsin, European Juniors, 9 July 2023
3:44.35: Dan Wiffen, Swim Open Stockholm, 13 April 2023
Mitsin said
“I can’t explain how happy I am, all the training, I’m so happy it all finally paid off and I want to say something to everyone – trust in God, believe in God and he will help you every time.
“I just I trust the process and training and some day when I’m getting better results, I think I will make new records.
“The next step is a great weekend, rest and then to continue training.
“I will celebrate with my family, close friends, coach and everyone from the Bulgarian swimming federation.”