The first edition of the European Short Course Championships was held in Rostock, Germany, from December 13 to December 15, 1996. The event, just a couple of months after the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, replaced the European Sprint Swimming Championships, where only the 50m events and the 100m individual medley were at stake. From this edition on, also the events longer than that were contested.

Medal table

Medal summary

Men's events

Women's events

References

• Results on GBRSports.com