European Championships, Day Seven Finals: Nine Crowns Up for Grabs on Last Night Of Paris 2026
- Results
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- Day 1 prelims report
- Day 1 finals report
- Day 2 prelims report
- Day 2 finals report
- Day 3 prelims report
- Day 3 finals report
- Day 4 prelims report
- Day 4 finals report
- Day 5 prelims report
- Day 5 finals report
- Day 6 prelims report
- Day 7 prelims report
Nine titles are on the line as the European Championships draw to a close in Paris. The evening will begin with the men’s 50 free and conclude with the men’s medley relay after seven days of thrilling, quality racing at the Olympic Aquatic Centre.
Home favourite Leon Marchand is in the 400 free final and joins Yohann Ndoye Brouard, Carl Aitkaci and Maxime Grousset in the French medley relay where he’ll swim the fly leg.
Lukas Märtens squeaked into the 400 free final where the Olympic and world champion clinched the last spot and will be swimming from lane eight.
Apostolos Christou has won 100m backstroke medals at five straight editions starting back at London 2016 with the Greek defending his 2024 title. It’s a race packed full of quality featuring Ndoye Brouard, Thomas Ceccon and Pavel Samusenko as well as Christou to name but four.
Hugo Gonzalez set a 200IM championship record of 1:56.61 to book lane four with Duncan Scott and Hubert Kos also in the race.
Helena Rosendahl Bach attempts her 200 fly defence; German duo Maya Werner and Isabel Gose occupy the centre lanes in the women’s 400 free with Simona Quadarella on the prowl after winning the 800/1500 double; Benedetta Pilato has led throughout the rounds in the women’s 50 breast.
Great Britain lead the medal table with six golds, one ahead of Italy and two more than the Neutral Athletes.
Men’s 50 Free
A crown awaited a new dash champion with 2024 and 2022 gold medallists Kristian Gkolomeev and Ben Proud having departed for the Enhanced Games.
And it was Nikita Sheremet who got his hand to the wall first, the Ukrainian touching in 21.13 ahead of Neutral Athlete Egor Kornev who shared silver with Serbian Andrej Barna in 21.37.
While19-year-old Sheremet hoisted himself on the lane ropes and slapped the water in celebration, there was no reaction from Kornev who simply swam over the lane ropes and on to poolside.
Women’s 50m Breaststroke
Benedetta Pilato led through prelims and semis and broke 30secs on both occasions.
She and Ruta Meilutyte were stroke for stroke in adjacent lanes with the Lithuanian taking the title in the narrowest of margins in 29.93 to 29.94.
Mona McSharry swam an Irish record of 29.95 for bronze as the first three home were separated by just 0.03. She leaves Paris with a medal in each of the three breaststroke events.
Men’s 200IM
Hubert Kos won the titles in 2022 and 2024 but it was Hugo Gonzalez – the 2021 champion – who’d booked lane four with a CR in the semis.
Kos went out fast and was 0.88 inside WR pace at halfway although he’d fallen almost a second outside after the breaststroke leg.
Gonzalez had made inroads into the deficit and came at Kos down the final 50 with the Hungarian digging into every last reserve to get his hand to the wall in a CR 1:54.24 to 1:54.44.
Mikhail Shcherbakov of the Neutral Athletes set a WJR of 1:56.16 for bronze.
Women’s 200 Fly
No British woman had ever won a gold or silver medallist in this event but Keanna MacInnes set about the race with clear conviction.
First at 50m and 1.04secs inside European record pace at halfway, the University of Stirling swimmer dug deep into all her reserves to take the title in 2:05.90. MacInnes added gold to her double silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Reigning champion Helena Rosendahl Bach made inroads down the final 50 but she never really threatened the Briton and added silver to her Belgrade 2024 gold in 2:06.14. Laura Cabanes Garzas (2:07.41) took third while Ellen Walshe was fourth, the final turn and last 50 charge that served her so well en-route to the IM double falling shy in 2:07.40.
Men 100 Back
Olympic champion and world record holder Thomas Ceccon led at halfway with Pavel Samusenko in second.
But it was Apostolos Christou of Greece that got his hand to the wall by a hair’s breadth taking the title in 52.27 to Ceccon’s 52.28 with Samusenko third in 52.57.
It was a second straight title for Christou and sixth consecutive medal in the event.
Women’s 400 Free
Maya Werner, Isabel Gose and Simona Quadarella pulled away at the halfway mark. Gose, the 2022 champion, went to the head of the field and led Quadarella by 0.33 at the final turn.
The Italian, however, pulled on to the German’s shoulder with the women going stroke for stroke before Quadarella moved ahead and touched in 4:01.34 to clinch a golden hat-trick, adding the 400 to her 800 and 1500 titles. It was her 11th European title.
Her time was a championship record, surpassing the 4:01.53 standard held by fellow Italian and swimming legend Federica Pellegrini since Eindhoven 2008.
Gose was second in 4:02.41 with Werner third in 4:03.73.
Men’s 400 Free
Olympic and world champion and world record-holder Lukas Märtens had only just squeaked into the final by a hair’s breadth and was down in lane eight.
Leon Marchand was in lane six and went out like a rocket, leading after 100 and at the halfway stage by when Oliver Klemet had started eating into the deficit with Zalan Sarkany keeping the Frenchman company in the adjacent lane.
Marchand kept going at the head of the field and whenever his advantage was being whittled down, he restored it with his turns and underwaters.
He came home for his second gold of the meet in 3:43.14 as an exultant crowd celebrated. Behind him Oliver Papai – the 16-year-old born in December 2009 – was charging down the final 50 and got silver in 3:44.46 with Märtens coming from fifth at the final turn to take bronze in 3:44.57.
Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay
Italy led through the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and until the final metres when Freya Colbert edged ahead of Emma Manicucci to clinch gold for Great Britain in a CR of 3:53.50.
Of note was an absolute monster breaststroke split of 1:03.75 by Angharad Evans.
Italy were second in 3:53.60 and the NAB third in 3:53.79.
Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay
An absolute thriller of a race which embodied the ebb and flow of relays ended with the NAB clinching the final title of the seven-day meet, as Egor Kornev split 46.85 to steer them to a 3:28.67 victory.
Italy were second in 3:28.86 with France third in 3:29.03 as Marchand won his second medal of the session with a 49.64 leg. Great Britain were fourth in 3:29.11.