17-08-2026
Photo: Instagram @emaconceicao
The Portuguese women's 4x200m freestyle relay team broke the national record on August 10, 2026, at the European Aquatics Championships, in Paris, setting the new mark at 8:01.21 minutes — an improvement of more than 12 seconds on the previous national record (8:13.42 minutes), which had stood since 2018.
Ema Conceição, a Master's student in Biochemistry at NOVA FCT, was part of the quartet alongside Francisca Martins (University of Minho), Anna Fomina (University of Lisbon) and Mariana Cunha (Porto Technical University).
For Ema Conceição, this was her debut at a European Championship: "It was an indescribable feeling. Making my debut at a European Championship and being able to help Portugal reach the final was very special," said the swimmer, who represents Sport Algés e Dafundo, in an interview with Record.
This achievement comes just weeks after the student set, on July 3, the absolute national record in the 100m freestyle (short course), with a time of 54.28 seconds.
The swimmer's achievement reinforces the contribution of NOVA FCT's student-athletes to national high-performance sport, balancing academic demands with top-level international competition.
