Sophia Walker Becomes Two-Time Swiss Age-Group Champion in Breaststroke Events and Reaches the 600 FINA Mark!

Sophia Walker from Limmat Sharks Zurich won the gold medal in the 100-m and 200-m breaststroke events at the Swiss Junior Championships in Basel on July 16, 2026, and became a two-time Swiss age-group champion.

The 12-year-old Sophia Walker improved all her personal best times at the junior championship in Basel. With her 100-m breaststroke final on the long course, she set a new NSM record with a time of 1:15.85 minutes—the fastest time ever swum by a 12-year-old at the NSM. With this, she also reached the 600 FINA points mark for the first time in a single event. She also stood at the top of the podium in the 200-m breaststroke with 2:47.28 minutes and a personal best. In addition, she took silver in the 100-m freestyle (1:03.14) and bronze in both the 200-m (2:35.56) and 400-m (5:37.08) individual medleys. Another highlight was the silver medal in the 4x100-m medley relay with her team, Hanna Rhomeder, Carolina Papp, and Mila Paszkowski. A great success in which the medley team gave everything.

Limmat Sharks Zurich was the most successful team of the competition with a total of 14 podium finishes. The Zurich swimmers claimed five gold, four silver, and five bronze medals, clearly distancing themselves from the competition. Particularly noteworthy was the triple success among the 12-year-olds in the 400-m individual medley, where all three medals went to the club.

The Swiss Junior Championship in Basel once again showcased the depth of Swiss junior swimming. For Sophia Walker, it was the most successful and most beautiful national competition of her career so far—with two gold medals and a total of 6 personal bests, she returns to Zurich and heads off into the summer holidays.

Sophia's note: Happy, it was great, proud, and now just sleep. Happy summer holidays! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who cheered me on, to my parents, grandparents, my wonderful Limmat Sharks team, and my coach Avery Adams.