Ethan Parker of France had enough left in his tank in the last 500m final heat to pull out a close victory over Vasileios Kakoulakis of Greece and Mate Karpati of Hungary in the 3 km Knockout Sprint today at the 2026 World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Santa Fe, Argentina.

After finishing second in the 1000m semifinal heat 15 minutes before the finals and 7th in the opening 1500m heat 45 minutes before the finals, Parker won by 6 tenths of a second over his Greek rival.

All competitors from ages 14 to 19 were eligible to compete. Impressively, 15-year-old Bo Ling Su of Chinese Taipei got into the finals. He will be someone to watch over the next two Olympic quadrennials (LA28 and 2032 Brisbane).

3 km Knockout Sprint, 14-19 Year

1. Ethan Parker (19, France, World Aquatics bio here, @ethan.parker_0) 5:03.90
2. Vasileios Kakoulakis (19, Greece, World Aquatics bio here) 5:04.50
3. Mate Karpati (17, Hungary, World Aquatics bio here) 5:04.60
4. Davide Grossi (19, Italy, World Aquatics bio here) 5:06.00
5. Konstantinos Chourdakis, (17, Greece, World Aquatics bio here) 5:06.20
6. Arthur Aguiar (19, Brazil, World Aquatics bio here) 5:10.00
7. Daniel Carter (19, Australia, World Aquatics bio here) 5:10.40
8. Lev Spanopulo,(18, Russia, World Aquatics bio here) 5:10.60
9. Bo Ling Su (15, Chinese Taipei, World Aquatics bio here) 5:11.00
10. Mieszko Nowacki (16, Poland, World Aquatics bio here) 5:12.00

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