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| Yannick Agnel dominated European Juniors in 2010 |
The first Euro Junior meet I ever followed was the 1998 edition in Palma De Mallorca Spain. I remember it for the standout performances from Louise Ornstedt and Dmitri Komornikov, both of whom went on to stellar international careers. A few years later Paul Biedermann dominated the meet on his way to dethroning Michael Phelps in the 200 free. It's the meet that introduced the world to Pal Joensen. The most recent edition last year belonged to Yannick Agnel.
But for every swimmer like the one's mentioned above, there are a number of champions who seem to not pan out even if they swim international quality times as juniors. I was reminded of that when I saw Xavier Mohammed's name as the meet record holder in the 200 IM. He recorded a time of 2:00.73 in the 2008. This past year he was 2:01. Olga Detenyuk put up a 2:24 200 breaststroke as a 16 year old in 2009. In 2010 she was 2:27 and I couldn't find results for her in 2011.
There is a wealth of talent in Europe but few good systems for developing athletes beyond the junior level. Countries have limited resources and tend to funnel it into a select group of athletes from 18 on. This mixed with the internet and increasingly competitive division one swimming has driven a number of these athletes to Division 1 Universities. But for as many that find a place within their own country or over in the states, there are far more that don't get either option. If you look at many European nations their best swimmers are juniors but juniors aren't competitively internationally anymore.
Anyway, enjoy the meet.
I have to wonder, do swim fans in other countries pay attention to our junior nats? And if so, which one or both? (NCSA or USA). What has happened at ours that Europe would care about?
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