Paris 2026: Marchand marches on into stacked 400m freestyle final as Quadarella closes on triple triple
Leon Marchand, seeking further success at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 after winning his first title in the previous night’s men’s 200m butterfly, qualified fourth fastest for what promises to be an epic 400m freestyle final in tonight’s closing swimming session. In what is for him a relatively new event, the 24-year-old quadruple Paris 2024 champion finished second in his heat in 3:45.85 behind Belgium’s Lucas Henveaux on 3:45.78. Germany’s Paris 2024 silver medallist in the 10km open water swimming, who won bronze here in that event, topped qualifying in 3:45.22 from Hungary’s Oliver Papai on 3:45.32. Klemet’s team-mate Lukas Martens, world and Olympic champion as well as world record holder in this event, only made it through in eighth place after clocking 3:46.33. Any hopes Germany’s 19-year-old Johannes Liebmann might have had of adding a third title to the ones he had already accumulated in the 800m and 1500m events – the latter in a staggering world record of 14:26.79 – came to naught as he finished eleventh in 3:47.58. He finished two places below the team-mate whose European 800m freestyle record he broke earlier this year, Sven Schwarz, who clocked 3:46.68. Such is the power of Germany’s distance swimming that if either had broken into the top eight they would not have progressed due to the rule limiting each nation to two qualifiers. Italy’s Simona Quadarella qualified for tonight’s women’s 400m freestyle with ominous ease in search of a third distance triple at the European Aquatics Championships. The 27-year-old Roman won the 400m, 800m and 1500m at the 2018 and 2020 editions but at her last Championships in her home city four years ago she took gold only in the 800m and 1500m, finishing second in the 400m. Having already secured the 800m and 1500m titles here she is one victory away from an unprecedented achievement after qualifying fourth fastest in 4:08.07. Fastest into the final was Germany’s 21-year-old Maya Werner in 4:05.40, followed on 4:06.37 by her team-mate Isabel Gose, who has two open water swimming golds from Paris 2026. Portugal’s Francisca Soares was third quickest in 4:08.01. Another view of Leon Marchand in action at the Olympic Aquatic Centre.as he hits the water in the men’s 200m butterfly. Credit: Istvan Derencsenyi/underthewatermedia.com Italy’s 19-year-old Sara Curtis looks odds-on to add to her medal collection tonight after helping her country qualify fastest in the women’s 4x100m medley heats in 3:57.11. Curtis set successive world records in winning women’s 50m backstroke gold, and has also collected bronzes in the women’s 50m and 100m freestyle, as well as silver and bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle and mixed 4x100m freestyle respectively. Germany were second fastest, just 0.01 behind, with Great Britain clocking 3:57.77. Neutral Athletes B were fastest into tonight’s men’s 4x100m medley relay final on 3:30.81, from Great Britain on 3:31.19 and Italy on 3:31.62. Para swimming, making its debut in these Championships, featured the reverse of the previous night’s finals, with women competing in 100m freestyle and men in 50m freestyle. Dutch athlete Rogier Dorsman (S11) topped qualifying for the men’s 50m freestyle final ahead of Denmark’s Alexander Hillhouse (S14), winner of the previous night’s men’s 100m freestyle title, second and Marco Meneses of Portugal (S11) third. The women’s list for tonight’s 100m freestyle final was headed by Turkiye’s Defne Kurt (S10), followed by Dutch athletes Liesette Bruinsma (S11) and the previous night’s gold medallist Irene van Drimmelen (S11) Para swimmers operate within a classification system that categories their degree of impairment. Classes S1 to S10 involve decreasing degrees of physical impairment. Classes S11 to S13 deal with vision impairment, with S11 being the most severe. The S14 class relates to intellectual impairment. In integrated racing the first swimmer home is not always the winner, as all participants are assessed according to a points system relating to their particular category. A second swim-off for a reserve place in the women’s 50m breaststroke final, required after Kotryna Teterevkova of Lithuania and NAB’s Ralina Giliazova had recorded 30.43 the previous evening, brought a resolution. Giliazova became first reserve after clocking 30.41, with Teterevkova recording 30.58. Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results. Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport. Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
Women in Aquatics Network members gather during Paris 2026 Championships
Around 30 members of the Women in Aquatics Network came together on 10 August for an informal gathering during the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026. Held at the competition swimming pool following the morning swimming heats, the event brought together women from different countries, generations and professional backgrounds, all connected through their involvement in aquatics. The gathering was opened by Sarah Keane, European Aquatics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Chair and Bureau Liaison, who welcomed participants and thanked them for attending. She also shared an update on the work of the Women in Aquatics Network and its efforts to connect women working across different roles within the aquatic sports community. “What we are trying to do is bring women together to get to know each other as leaders within European Aquatics, to support each other, learn from each other and encourage each other to take on more roles and opportunities within aquatics. Today is about making real connections — meeting new people, sharing our experiences and building a network of women who can support each other and help make European Aquatics stronger and more inclusive.” Sarah then invited those present to introduce themselves to the group, creating an opportunity for participants to learn more about each other’s experiences and areas of work. Among those attending were Andida Bouma, European Aquatics Treasurer, Silvia Costa, European Aquatics Social Responsibility Manager, Pernille Blume, European Aquatics Bureau Member, Leonie Beck, European Aquatics Athlete Ambassador, Julia Powischer, Secretary General of the Austrian Swimming Federation, alongside many other members and professionals from across the aquatics community. The introductions were followed by an informal food and drinks reception, allowing participants to continue the conversation, exchange experiences and build new connections in a relaxed setting. The gathering reflected the diversity of the Women in Aquatics Network, with approximately 50 women from a wide range of countries, professions and age groups taking part. The Paris meeting follows the Network’s first leadership webinar, held in June, which brought together more than 30 women for discussions on leadership, governance and professional development. The Women in Aquatics Network will continue to provide opportunities for members to connect, exchange experiences and support greater participation of women across the European aquatics community. Women interested in joining future activities of the Women in Aquatics Network are invited to register through the official platform. The Network is open to women aged 18 and over who are members of a National Federation within European Aquatics, or who have been involved in aquatics at any point during the past 10 years, and who have an interest in leadership and professional development within sport.
Paris 2026: Marchand delivers gold and Liebmann crushes men’s 1500m world record on day six
Leon Marchand delivered the result that France has been expecting for two years to earn his first European title on a night when Germany’s 19-year-old Johannes Liebmann pulverised the men’s 1500m freestyle world record, becoming the first man under 14.30 with a time of 14.26.79. The 24-year-old French sporting icon, whose preparations for the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 had been undermined by injury, finished a full body length clear of a world class field to win the men’s 200m butterfly final on day six. His time of 1:51.52, witnessed by an adoring Olympic Aquatic Centre crowd, was not far shy of the Olympic record of 1:51.21 he set in this event while winning four golds at the Paris 2024 Games. There were further cogent reasons to be cheerful for the French supporters as Mary-Ambre Moluh set a European record of 57.94 in winning the women’s 100m backstroke title, with Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands taking silver in 58.46 and Moluh’s team-mate Pauline Mahieu securing bronze in 58.77. Sweden’s 32-year-old Paris 2024 double gold medallist Sarah Sjostrom narrowly failed to earn European gold on her return to the French capital. Sjostrom, who returned to the sport in April having taken a 20-month break – during which time she became a mother – was narrowly beaten to the women’s 50m freestyle title by Poland’s Katarzyna Wasick, two years her senior, who clocked 23.84 to the Swede’s 23.86, with bronze going to Italy’s 19-year-old double world record breaker here, Sara Curtis, in 23.99. A dizzying opening burst of top class finals continued with the men’s 50m breaststroke, where Italy’s Olympic 100m breaststroke champion Nicolo Martinenghi secured victory in 26.57 ahead of Koen de Groot of The Netherlands in 26.62 and his Italian team-mate, world champion Simone Cerasuolo, who clocked 26.62. The final salvo of opening gold medal swims saw Ireland’s Ellen Walshe, already women’s 400m individual medley champion, earn a dramatic double as she came home first in the 200m individual medley from lane one, clocking 2:09.81 ahead of Italy’s Anita Gastaldi on 2:10.07 and Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk on 2:10.10. Para swimming had made its debut in these Championships earlier in the day, and the first European medallists were determined in the women’s 50m freestyle and men’s 100m freestyle finals. Marchand had arrived in Paris carrying not just a hip adductor injury but a huge weight of expectation. The nation that had thrilled to his quadruple triumph at the home Olympics had long marked down the European Aquatics Championships for a repeat performance. As the main Paris 2026 poster boy remarked wryly on the eve of competition, his injury – which precluded him swimming events involving breaststroke here – was “pretty bad timing.” But having cut his individual programme to the 200m butterfly and tomorrow’s men’s 400m individual medley, the 24-year-old Texas-based phenomenon has made the most of his involvement. On day one he risked himself in the opening leg of the men’s 4x200m freestyle, and a staggering lead-off split of 1:43.76 set France up for silver behind Olympic and world champions Great Britain. He then qualified fastest for the 200m butterfly final in 1:53.95 to send home hopes soaring. Hungary’s Olympic men’s 200m backstroke champion Hubert Kos, who had already won that event here, set the early pace, leading until the halfway point, which he reached in 53.32, before fading to sixth place. The second half was all Marchand, with the rapt crowd cheering every time his head rose, and in the final 50 metres he found the power to turn a contest into a procession. The spectators had filled the arena with ear-buzzing sound at the introduction of the multiple Paris 2024 gold medallist. When he touched home there was a pandemonium of waving home flags and a huge chant of “Leon, Leon, Leon…” This, truly, was what a local hero looked like. “It was an awesome moment!,” he told France 24. “I was already in touch with Hubert and there was an amazing vibe in the pool, so I’ll simply remember it for a long time. “The last 50 was really good. I think it’s the best 50 I’ve done in a long time, but it also means I maybe could have started faster.” And when the medal ceremony MC turned the sound down halfway through La Marseillaise, the crowd sung it to the end with pride. Silver went to Apostolos Siskos of Greece in 1:54.13, with Italy’s Alberto Razzetti taking bronze in 1:54.23. Liebmann, who lowered the men’s European 800m freestyle record to 7:37.94 earlier this year, was a man on a mission in his 1500m freestyle final – two and a half seconds inside world record pace after 400m, and accelerating. Throughout the second half of the race the question appeared not to be whether he would win, or whether he would break the world record, but by how much he would beat the world record. In the end he improved the mark of 14.30.67 set by Bobby Finke of the United States in winning at the Paris 2024 Games by almost four seconds. A monumental performance. And the third world record to be set at these Championships following the two marks in the women’s 50m backstroke by Italy’s own 19-year-old world record breaker, Sara Curtis. “The time is insane but I knew I could go fast and that was the plan, go fast in the beginning and keep that pace, get clear of the others,” Liebmann told European Aquatics. “But then I it hurt quite a lot!” To hear the crowd cheering in the last 200m was a great, great feeling.” Silver went to Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany in 14:39.45, with Germany’s Paris 2024 open water swimming silver medallist Oliver Klemet taking bronze in 14.40.64. The women’s 50m freestyle victory clearly came as something of a shock to Poland’s EA short course 50m champion Wasick, who had won two previous European medals – both silver. Para swimmers operate within a classification system that categories their degree
Paris 2026: EA President Silva welcomes landmark para swimming inclusion and advocates further progress
As para swimmers from eight nations prepare to compete for the first time this weekend within the main programme of the European Aquatics Championships, EA President Antonio Silva has hailed the landmark inclusion – and sounded a rallying cry for further assistance in building on this vital start. Speaking to para swimmers taking part at Paris 2026 in a Para Swimming Workshop, Silva described about the two-year action plan that is now underway. “We currently have15 of our 52 national federations where para swimming is fully integrated. We need to dial up with all the other 37 federations to see what is happening and how we can help,” he said. “We have started the action plan with 15 federations to show it is possible and that we are going to do it. “We have integration of our coaches. And in Sofia recently 70 of our officials, many of whom will be here, attended a para education event. “Now we need to push for the rest of the federations to join because this will be a reality for us. “Our main aim is very simple. We want para aquatic sports to be included in the governance of all our 52 national federations.” EA Sports Manager Farouk Ben Jeddi told the workshop that a total of 40 national federations had responded to a survey sent out by European Aquatics on the topic of para aquatics activity. Of those who responded, 15 ran a fully integrated programme, while 25 had yet to integrate their para aquatics. EA conducted interviews with three nations where para aquatics is fully integrated – Great Britain, Finland and Portugal. They also spoke to countries where integration is still in progress such as Ireland, Turkiye and Hungary. Finally they sought advice from Australia and Canada, which conduct their own para aquatics initiatives. EA then created a para swimming toolkit based upon five pillars: governance, procedures and organisation, education and training, co-ordination of events, and finally communications and marketing. Silva also explained how EA were breaking new ground in creating competitions not just for para swimmers, but for para athletes in open water swimming, artistic swimming and water polo. “Later this summer we will have more than 60 para athletes taking part in the EA Masters Championships in swimming, artistic swimming and open water.,” he said. “This is a start.” Silva added the EA were also planning to stage the first ever short course par a swimming competition in 2027. “We could have stayed with our strategy with the six sports we have and Masters events,” he said. “Of course it is enough. But we don’t think like this. We don’t think there are two different types of sports. There is one, where disabled athletes can also participate. This is my view. “Inside every country we need to build the bridges so that sooner or later we have full inclusion of para sport inside European Aquatics and national federations. “But for now all of you here can say you were in Paris 2026 for the first ever inclusive European Aquatics Championships.” Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics