The third day of open water swimming action at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 played host to the relatively new 3km knockout sprint format, and it was Germany’s Isabel Gose and Hungary’s David Betlehem who emerged victorious in the respective women’s and men’s races following thrilling 500m showdowns.
With the action on the River Seine beginning to restart following a one day break, 31 women and 36 men looked to build on the already impressive sets of 10km and 5km races that took place in the days prior, only this time over the still-new 3km format.
The rules for the race deviated slightly from the ones that had taken place in the months prior, with the second round now featuring two heats instead of one. Each athlete would now need to make the top ten in their respective first round heat to qualify for the second round, and then the top five in that to make the final.
Women’s 3km knockout sprint
In that first round, the women began their campaign in what was undoubtedly the coldest temperatures the venue had seen all week. With many waiting until the very last second to remove their tracksuits before racing.
With the first round consisting of a 1500m swim, the first heat saw many of the athletes get stuck in and around each other, as they struggled to break through.
The race did then develop some structure as they came back past the pontoon and reached the halfway stage of the race, before Linda Caponi of Italy led home the procession with ten athletes taking their spots in the second round.
The following heat went approximately five minutes after the first had dived in, and the contest seemed to have a lot more urgency. The athletes tried many more maneuvers and had noticeably higher stroke rates compared to the first heat. This also had an effect on the standings, with Gose taking first place with a time that was 23 seconds quicker than Caponi’s, as a further ten athletes progressed.
The second round followed a similar pattern, with the first heat going stroke for stroke as the top five qualifying athletes were only separated by 1.2 seconds. France’s Ines Delacroix, who had perhaps been unfortunate not to get onto the podium in the 5km event, took first place in the first heat in a tie with Hungary’s Bettina Fabian, as three other athletes progressed to the ten-woman showdown.
That race was a tactical masterclass by Gose to take the crown. Managing to get in-front by the first turning buoy, she kicked on down the first half of the final straight, and set a distance that could not be caught, despite charges from a number of athletes at certain times. She touched home for the gold medal in a time of 6:41.0, with Fabian and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci, two-time gold medallist from earlier in the week, taking respective silver and bronze.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Gose to European Aquatics following the race.
“So I’m one week here now and it was time to race for me. It’s a bit hard to keep the the mind high and being mentally prepared for the race the whole week but I’m pretty happy that I have got the European title now.
“It was pretty important that I was able to go into the front the way up and keep the girls behind me so that I’m going to have free space for my swim.”
Fabian was content with what was her first medal of the week.
“I’m happy,” she said. “It’s always great to win a medal at a major, either in individual race or in the relay. It was great to battle out with Isabel (Gose). We also clashed in Singapore, at the Worlds last year, there I managed to finish ahead of her, now she came first, so it’s a great rivalry which I enjoy very much. Now, we are getting ready for the relay as I think we have a good chance to finish on the podium.”
Taddeucci has now taken three medals from as many races this week, and she gave a levelled assessment of her performance.
It’s my third race, and I was a little tired,” she said. “My legs were really shaking. But I’m very happy, I didn’t think I’d get a medal, so I’m happy.”
Men’s 3km knockout sprint
The men’s race also had some interesting storylines. Both heats were more even in terms of timings, with Germany’s Johannes Liebmann and Florian Wellbrock, the latter also a two-time European champion from this week, leading out the first two heats, before Liebmann and compatriot Oliver Klemet kept the German clean sweep going in the second round.
The final also brought the drama. After a rather levelled push from the field down the first straight, a handful of athletes kept the pace as they came into the final 200 metres, and it seemed as though a photo finish would occur.
That was until Betlehem came seemingly out of nowhere down the left hand side, surged past the field from a wide position, and took a convincing victory with a time of 6:12.9. The field behind him were still bunched up, but it was France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier and Logan Fontaine who managed to touch the pads for the silver and bronze, a couple of seconds behind the Hungarian for the nation’s first medals of the open water swimming programme.
“This day is awesome,” said Betlehem.
“It was another great race. Over the first 1500m I felt the pain from the previous days’ races and a thought crossed my mind that perhaps two medals already look fine, but then I saw the others that they faced the same challenges with their bodies, so I just went for it.
“I couldn’t clinch the exact position which would have put me to the side at the start of the 500m. I ended up in the middle, so all I needed was a big dive, big underwater kicking and storm to the front which I managed to do, together with Kristof (Rasovszky). Turning over the finish, all I wanted to avoid was having anyone beside me, avoid any fighting, so I chose to go for the middle of the river.
“Perhaps it looked crazy from the shore but it worked as only a jetski followed me after a while and I was like, ‘OK, if they didn’t bring someone to drop after me (from the jetski), then the plan is working’. I’m happy to win gold after the two silver, to prove that I can be the best at least in one race here.”
Olivier was also impressed with what was France’s second silver medal of the Championships, after Jules Bouyer’s achievement in the diving.
“I’m very happy because at the start of the European Championships I was not feeling very well, but now I’m very happy to win a medal for my country here in Paris.
“Me and my team tried to find a solution for today, (after feeling unwell), and it worked because we won the medals. It’s difficult to to swim with a little bit of pain, but now we need to be focused for the relay in the morning.”
The 4x1500m mixed team relay event is the final event on the open water swimming programme. It will take place at 12:00 local time on Saturday 8 August.
Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results.
Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
