Day three at the European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships concluded amidst Italian joy after a surprise victory in the women’s 100m butterfly by Caterina Santambrogio was followed by a successful defence of the women’s 4x200m freestyle title.

There was cause for British celebration also at the 1972 Munich Olympic pool as Theodora Taylor, contesting her third European Juniors, secured her first individual gold in the women’s 50m freestyle and later helped her team earn bronze in the concluding relay.

Neutral athletes earned gold in the men’s 200m individual medley, where serial record-breaker and defending champion Mikhail Shcherbakov earned his first individual title, and in the women’s 1500m freestyle, where Kseniia Misharina held off the challenge of Hungary’s Vivien Jackl.

The most dramatic victory of the evening, however, came in the men’s 1500m freestyle, where Poland’s Mikolaj Litoborski and Juan Vallmitjana Behrendt of Spain contested gold stroke-for-stroke down the final 50m stretch before the Pole touched home 0.09 ahead amidst a cacophony of excitement.

Santambrogio, who has won European gold, silver and bronze in relay racing since 2024, was another to earn her first individual medal – and she made it gold as she clocked 58.63 in a women’s 100m butterfly final where she had been third fastest qualifier.

The 17-year-old looked a little dazed as she leaned on a lane guide and took in the result of a race in which silver went to neutral athlete Serafina Fokina in 58.67 and bronze to Poland’s Barbara Lesniewska in 58.78.

“I hardly have any words because this is a dream and I’m so happy,” Santambrogio told European Aquatics. “I have dreamed about this for so long.

“At first, when I touched (at the finish) I didn’t understand anything and then I saw my friends clapping their hands and shouting for me and I realised I had done it.

It (Italy) is an amazing team and I have so many beautiful friends and I’m happy to be here with them and winning for them.”

Before long there was another joyous Italian taking in victory as Bianca Nannucci, who had earned bronze in defence of her women’s 200m freestyle title the previous night, touched home first to enable her team to retain the women’s 4x200m freestyle title after an almighty struggle with the neutral athletes and British quartets.

Italy held a narrow first-leg lead over Great Britain – represented by Taylor – but the neutral athletes moved ahead in the second leg thanks to the efforts of Sofia Diakova, the 2025 400m and 800m champion, and retained the lead going into the final leg.

There, however, Nannucci proved irresistible as she brought the team home in 7:56.26, with the NA taking silver in 7:57.34 and Great Britain finishing third in 1:58.29.

“I think I can speak for all of us that this really meant a lot,” Nannucci said. “Last year we also won and so we were really hoping to get this gold and it makes us super happy to do it together.

“I think we got two golds today so Team Italy did really well today and we just want to keep pushing for the remaining three days of competition and do our very best.”

Taylor’s women’s 50m freestyle win came a after helping secure women’s 4x100m freestyle gold in a European junior record of 3:37.35.

The 17-year-old Briton, who had earned six medals over the course of the previous two editions of these Championships, finished in 24.82 ahead of Spain’s Irene Ciercoles Galve, who clocked 24.91, and neutral athlete Kira Manokhina, who recorded 25.02.

It was a long-awaited moment for an athlete who earned joint silver with Manokhina in this event last year behind Denmark’s Martine Damborg.

“That race means so much to me, it’s my first European Junior individual title so it’s really special,” she said.

“I knew I had speed so it was great to deliver that today. Definitely being able to win medal as a team this week has given us all confidence and there’s a really good vibe in the team right now.

“With the 50m free the only individual event I’m doing here I kind of put a bit of pressure on myself to win this one because I wanted to win it so bad!”

The men’s 1500m freestyle final had five in contention for medals over the final stages of the race before it became a personal battle involving two.

Litoborski claimed victory on the touch, clocking 15:08.02, with Spain’s Juan Vallmitjana Behrendt just 0.09 behind for silver.

Adrien Espriet of France came through to take bronze in 15:12.48, with Konstantinos Chourdakis of Greece fourth in 15:15.34 and fifth place going to Germany’s Moritz Erkmann in 15:18.61.

“It was a very fun race, we were all swimming a similar pace and the finish was just fire!” Litoborski said.

I was very happy to get the touch and very excited. I think this is a very big achievement for myself. The long distances are very tactical and fun races.”

Behrendt added: “For sure going into the last 300-400m was a very close race and going into the last 100m was just crazy and we gave it everything.”

Shcherbakov, who has contributed to three world junior relay records in the first two days of competition here, secured individual success as he retained his men’s 200m individual medley in a Championship record.

Shcherbakov was never headed, coming home in 1:58.12 to better the mark of 1:59.04 he set in Samorin last year.

He was followed home by Turkiye’s Emre Onus, who clocked 2:00.18, with Belgium’s fast-finishing Simon Laviolette taking bronze ahead of Austria’s Christian Giefing in 2:00.37.

It was another winning flourish for Shcherbakov, who anchored the NA men’s 4x100m freestyle team to successive world junior records of 3:14.72 and 3:12.75 on day one before contributing to a mixed 4x100m freestyle world junior record of 3:23.96 on day two.

Hungary’s Vivien Jackl earned her second silver of these Championships as she followed home neutral athlete Kseniia Misharina in the women’s 1500m freestyle.

Misharina, who won 400m freestyle silver at last year’s edition of these Championships in Samorin, led from start to finish, earning gold in 16:05.46.

Over the concluding third of the race Misharina extended her lead inexorably, finishing 6.13 clear, with Jackl – who won the senior European title in 2024 before competing at the Paris Olympics – clocking 16:11.59 to  add a silver in this event to the bronzes she has won at the last two editions of these Championships.

“That actually hurt,” Jackl said. “I thought I could put in a better time but it was my last 1500m at a European Juniors so I’m trying to keep it in the moment and be proud of myself.

“Coming into this meet I had no confidence at all so I am really trying to enjoy the races and try to get the love back for the sport.”

With Lithuania’s Tajus Juska not starting in defence of his 50m freestyle title the way was clear for his rivals to stake their claim.

Spain’s Luca Hoek, who beat Juska to 100m freestyle gold last year, topped the morning heats in 22.08 and trimmed 0.01 from that time in the semi-finals.

But Czechia’s Jan Foltyn, narrowly beaten to men’s 50m breaststroke gold by Britain’s Max Morgan the night before, was fastest qualifier to tomorrow’s final in 22.03.

Juska, clearly not in top form, had started the defence of his men’s 100m butterfly title in the heats by finishing tenth fastest in 53.79, could only manage fourth place in the first semi-final behind three automatic qualifiers, clocking 53.14.

That proved insufficient to reach a final where the three fastest qualifiers were Francesco Ceolin of Italy on 52.45, Spain’s Joaquin Pavon Soto on 52.72, and Britain’s Dean Fearn – 2025 silver medallist and 50m butterfly gold medallist – on 52.74.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics