The next major international competition of the season is already upon us, as the 2026 World Junior Championships are set to begin in Budapest, Hungary. Starting on August 12, the great Duna Arena will see athletes aged 15 to 19 (20 for male swimmers) from 36 nations compete across 11 medal events.
Of these nations entered, only four – Colombia, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and Spain – will contest all 11 events.
Fans already got a preview of the competitiveness that’s to come at the European Junior Championships in Munich a few weeks ago. There, the Russian athletes, competing under the Neutral Athletes designation, absolutely dominated the competition overall, winning 10 of the 11 gold medals on offer and claiming the Championships Trophy.
In Budapest, they will compete under their national flag and anthem. This will also be their first appearance at these championships since 2018, when they won every event.
Once again, the Russian Federation comes in as the heavy favorite across the board, with the free duet of Kristina Chekhanova and Anastasiia Sidorina deserving particular attention after their dominant performance in Munich.
If one nation consistently challenged Russia in Munich, it was Spain. The Spanish delegation reached the podium in all 11 events as well there, and notably claimed the sole remaining gold in the free mixed duet event thanks to Arlet Arnan and Eneko Sanchez.
Sanchez will also be one to watch closely in the men’s technical solo, as his technique and interpretation in Munich were absolutely outstanding.
Spain also brings plenty of experience in Naia Alvarez, Rocio Calle and Daniela Suarez, all of whom have been training alongside the senior national team all year. Alvarez and Calle won two duet bronze medals last time out at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Lima, while all three were part of Spain’s bronze-medal-winning team routines.
This time, Alvarez will be joined by Suarez for the duet events. Both have competed extensively on the World Cup circuit in duet this season, and each will be medal contenders in their respective solo events as well.
Of course, the People’s Republic of China will be very much in the conversation for world titles in Budapest. Two years ago in Lima, the nation had finished at the top of the medal table with a record haul of 10 out of 11 possible medals, including four historic golds.
Guo Muye and Xu Huiyan led that campaign, but both have since moved fully into China’s senior squad, although Guo was still age-eligible for Budapest. This time, a new generation will take the reins, with Zhou Kunyi among the names to watch after already serving as a reserve for the senior team routines at the Xi’an World Cup.
The men’s events will also feature Chen Xiuping, bronze medalist in the men’s solo at last year’s World Youth Championships, and Chen Keyu, with both having gained World Cup experience this season already.
Japan is another nation with a strong recent record at these championships. The Japanese have won the women’s technical duet title at the last two editions and also took two team silver medals in Lima.
Miyazaki Kaho, a silver medalist in the duet at last year’s World Youth Championships, and Ishimi Kikuno, already a member of the senior national team, are among the names to watch, while Aitaka Heizo, bronze medalist at the 2025 World Youth Championships,will lead the charge in the men’s events.
Mexico is another nation worth keeping an eye on. The Mexicans delivered an outstanding performance in 2024, finishing second on the medal table with three golds and two silvers.
Repeating that kind of haul will be no easy task with such a strong field in Budapest, but their record at the junior level means they cannot simply be overlooked. They also dominated the Junior Pan American Games last year, winning gold in the duet, mixed duet and team events.
Team USA arrives as the reigning World Junior Champions in the acrobatic team event, and with a very strong, well-rounded roster.
The team is notably highlighted by Ghizal Akbar, AnaMaria Camero, Kanako Field, David Llorente and Jacklyn Zhuge, all of whom already selected in the LA 2028 Olympic training squad.
France’s delegation to Budapest is led by Olympian Laelys Alavez, who is still only 19 and yet virtually the most experienced athlete of the field. After helping France to four top-five finishes at the European Championships in Paris last week, Alavez will now get her chance to compete in the women’s technical solo.
A silver medalist at the 2022 World Youth Championships and European Youth Champion that same year, Alavez has only previously competed in the free solo, so Budapest will mark the first time she takes on the technical event internationally.
Two-time World and European Youth Champion Macéo Vanhée-Dedieu will make his first competitive appearance of 2026 after being sidelined by injuries, missing every domestic and international competition so far this year.
The 15-year-old is set to compete in the men’s technical solo and technical team, making his return one of the storylines to watch in Budapest.
In terms of individuals, the experienced Filippo Pelati is a very strong contender for the men’s solo world titles.
A bronze medalist in the mixed duet technical in Lima, the 2025 world bronze medalist in the men’s free solo, and now 10-time European medalist, Pelati has established himself as Italy’s most prominent senior male athlete, and arrives in Budapest after winning four medals in Paris.
This time, he will focus on both men’s solo events and the acrobatic team, with teammate Gabriele Minak taking over the mixed duet duties.
Pelati, and Alavez, are far from the only athletes arriving in Budapest (more or less) fresh from the European Championships.
Russia’s Alina Rumiantseva and Zakhar Trofimov, the latter a two-time medalist in Paris, will also be back in action, alongside Belarus’ Anastasiya Dabravolskaya and Aliaksandra Mironchyk, both two-time European Junior bronze medalists, Türkiye’s Selin Hurmeric, reigning World Youth silver medalist in solo, and World Cup medalist Zofia Strapekova of Slovakia, amongst others.
Looking back to the last edition in 2024, only a handful of its medalists remain eligible for the junior ranks, with most having now moved on to the senior level.
Besides Pelati, Chile’s Nicolas Campos is one of the few returners, having won silver in the free solo and bronze in the technical solo in Lima. The 18-year-old has continued to improve tremendously since then, most recently winning two medals at the World Cup Super Final as well as silver at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games.
But Budapest could also see some new, yet experienced, names break into the conversation. Viktor Druzin of Kazakhstan is perhaps the perfect example. Since his outing in Lima, Druzin has gained extensive experience internationally, notably competing at all World Cup stops of 2025 and 2026, collecting nine medals in the latter.
The 20-year-old should bring his usual appetite for high difficulty to this meet and, as always, it will be interesting to see where that takes him.
The competition begins tomorrow with three straight finals, with the women’s technical solo at 10:00 am, followed by the men’s technical solo – with 15 athletes! – at 2:00 pm. The day will conclude with the technical team final at 5:00pm. All the information to follow the championships is available here.
ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET
Cover photo: Istvan Derencsenyi/European Aquatics
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