Rosendahl Bach wins semifinal in favored discipline

Danish swimmer Helena Rosendahl Bach is heading to the final of her favored event, the 200-meter butterfly, at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris. Bach secured her spot by winning her semifinal heat on Saturday evening with a time of 2 minutes and 7.18 seconds.

While her time was the second fastest across both semifinals, she narrowly missed out on the top spot by a mere 0.08 seconds to Britain's Emily Richards. Bach's performance was still strong enough to place her ahead of the third-fastest swimmer by 0.35 seconds, positioning her as a significant medal contender for Sunday's final.

Bach led her semifinal after the 50 and 100-meter marks but fell back to third place before a powerful finish secured her the win. This time also marked her personal best for 2026. "It's great timing. I think I delivered a race according to plan. I tried to hold back a little on the second 50 so I would have something to finish with, and I think that worked out very well. Now I hope I can find a bit more for the final," Bach stated.

Earlier in the day, Bach had posted the fastest time of all swimmers in the preliminary heats with a 2:08.42. The 26-year-old from Holstebro is the defending European long-course champion in the event and also holds a World Championship silver medal, underscoring her status as a top contender.

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It's great timing. I think I delivered a race according to plan. I tried to hold back a little on the second 50 so I would have something to finish with, and I think that worked out very well. Now I hope I can find a bit more for the final.