H₂Okie sophomore Katarina Filova and former H₂Okie Kaan Tayla '10 both represented their countries at the 2010 European Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary this summer. Filova, representing her native land of Slovakia, competed in the 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter freestyles. Filova made it as far as the semifinals in the 200-meter freestyle by earning a season best of 2:00.93. She also posted times of 26.39 in the 50-meter free, 56.54 in the 100-meter free, and 4:21.08 in the 400-meter freestyle.

“It wasn’t my best meet, but I was happy to make semifinals, though I didn’t do quite as well as I wanted. I am hoping to make finals one day,” announced Filova. She is currently a sophomore for the H₂Okies, and will be a top competitor for the Virginia Tech Women’s Swimming & Diving Team.

Kaan Tayla, representing Turkey, competed in the sprint events with good swims in the 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, and 100-meter freestyle. Tayla’s time of 23.15 placed him at 35^th in the 50-meter freestyle. Tayla finished with a 25.52 in the 50-meter butterfly and a 51.98 in the 100-meter freestyle.