Paris 2026: Record-breaking social numbers for European Aquatics Championships
The European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 proved massively effective in terms of engaging with its followers. During the Championships, which ran from July 31 to August 16, a total of 95,218,228 views were recorded across European Aquatics-owned channels. The comparative figure for the last European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade two years ago was 27,000,000 – representing an overall increase of more than 250%. One of the highest-viewed pieces of original content from Paris 2026 was a fun TikTok with David Popovici which has over 1 million views on TikTok alone. This shows that European Aquatics have invested in new forms of media engagement and not just relying on event clips and highlights to generate attention. France Télévisions has reported surpassing 35 million total viewers across linear channels (France 2, France 3) and digital platforms during their coverage of aquatics events at the Olympic Aquatics Centre and river Seine. The pan-European TV ratings are currently being finalised by our broadcast partner EBU. An EA survey of the period from July 20 to August 19 this year recorded a total reach of 42 million, of which 12 million was through social media and 30 million through non-social media. There were a total of 136,000 social media interactions and 130,000 social media reactions (eg likes). The executive summary reads: “The monitoring period for Paris 2026 saw a significant surge in activity, with total mentions reaching 3.1k (916% increase) and a remarkable total reach of 41.8M (2478% increase). “Social media engagement skyrocketed, with 136.1k interactions (4932% increase), driven by 129.8k reactions, 1.8k comments, and 4.6k shares. “Positive sentiment dominated with 767 mentions (2031% increase), while negative mentions remained low at 41. “Key events included a spike on 2026-08-03 due to coverage of Neutral Athletes B winning gold and Ranjuo Tomblin’s victory in artistic swimming. “On August 9 NAB Nelli Chukanivska’s gold in women’s high diving drove a reach of 3.2M. “On August 12 mentions peaked with posts about Mona McSharry’s silver and Ellen Walshe’s gold for Ireland in swimming, alongside Italy’s Sara Curtis setting a world record in the 50m backstroke. “Finally, on August 15, Germany’s Johannes Liebmann broke the men’s 1500m freestyle world record, contributing to a reach of 4.4M. “The majority of mentions came from news (47.5%), X (13.9%), Instagram (9.9%), and other social platforms (8.5%). “The top authors by share of voice included olympics on Instagram (10.5%, 1.3M reach), Bismillah on Facebook (7.7%, 946.2k reach), and RTEsport on X (5.5%, 674.9k reach).” Of the respondees, most were within the 25-34 age range, with the 19-24 and 45-54 age ranges featuring as next largest. In terms of gender, the respondents were almost equally male and female.
Paris 2026: Wesemann in wonderland after stunning 3m springboard win as Ukraine earn first diving gold in mixed 10m platform
European divers produced a contest of pulverising world class quality in the men’s 3m springboard final here at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. And just as he had done to retain his 1m title four days earlier, Germany’s Moritz Wesemann produced a huge and dramatic final flourish, earning gold with a score of 95.55. Earlier in the evening Ukraine, who topped the medal standings at last year’s European Aquatics Diving Championships with five golds, earned their first at Paris 2026 as Oleksii Sereda and Kseniia Baylo dominated the 10m synchro final. Wesemann was masterly as he secured his second gold of the Championships. But he benefited from a calamitous finish by Great Britain’s Jordan Houlden, whose fourth and fifth round scores of 91.65 and 91.80 had left him with a 16.15 lead going into the last round – despite the fact that Wesemann had scored 95.00 in round five. After France’s Jules Bouyer, diving early in the round, had buoyed the crowd by returning to the top of the pile with a mighty effort of 91.20 that took him to a final total of 484.60 the title appeared to lie in Houlden’s hands as he stepped forward for his last dive – a Forward 4½ Somersaults Tuck (109C) with degree difficulty 3.8. In the morning preliminaries he had ended with a disappointing score of 51.30 for the same dive. This time, agonisingly, it was worse as his total of 47.50 left him on 474.90. His silver turned to bronze as Wesemann concluded with imperturbable brilliance. It was the most exciting diving final Paris 2026 has so far witnessed. Wesemann, who had retained his 1m title on day 2 with a masterly final dive earning 86.40, was set on upgrading the bronze he earned at last year’s Europeans, leading the morning qualifiers by more than 25 points with a total of 446.25 from Great Britain’s Ross Haslam and Houlden. But the German began indifferently and arrived at round two placed 11th of 12 after a score of 66.30 in a list headed by home hope Jules Bouyer on 78.20 and Italy’s Giovanni Tocci on 77.50. Wesemann, diving last in the round, was 90.10 off the lead when he took off and just 3.40 away from the lead when he landed as his Forward 2½ Somersaults 2 Twists Pike (5154B) with a degree difficulty of 3.4 – the lowest of his six ambitious dives – had earned him 86.70. Back in the game. He wasn’t the only one finding top form hjowever. Houlden hit the heights with his third-round effort as he earned a huge 89.25 from his Reverse 3½ Somersaults Tuck (307C) dive with 3.5 degree difficulty, going into the lead on 243.95. His fellow native of Sheffield, Haslam, almost matched him with the next dive as he scored 88.40 to reach 228.80, just behind Bouyer on 232.90. Last of round three was Wesemann, and he took was in the 80s, scoring 81.00 to stand second at the halfway point on 234.00. Bouyer, who had high 70s in his first three dives, maintained momentum as he scored 84.00 in round four to become early leader on 316.90, to the huge appreciation of packed stands either side of him. Who if anyone would come past him? Houlden’s effort was Forward 2½ Somersaults 3 Twists Pike (5156B) with a 3.9 degree difficulty – the highest of all dives chosen by the field – and it yielded him a superb score of 91.65 which put him 18.70 points ahead of Bouyer on 335.60. Wesemann had to produce his best score of the competition thus far, 82.25, to keep in the running for medals as the field went through to round five, totalling 316.25, ahead of Haslam on 316.25. Bouyer, jumping third, kept his nerve to score 76.50 and stay in the running for medals. Soon he found his comrade Alexis Jandard moving into second place after scoring 87.50. Home excitement rising… Houlden, who had lamented after the 1m final that he had found it hard to keep going during a competition timed late in the evening – past his normal bedtime of 22.00 – appeared laser-focused as he earned another huge score, 91.80, for his Back 3½ Somersaults Tuck (207C) dive worth 3.6 degree difficulty to resume the lead on 427.40. The 28-year-old Briton was in territory beyond the reach of most of his rivals – but not Wesemann, who saw Houlden’s 91s and raised them, earning 95.00 for his Forward 4½ Somersaults Tuck (109C) dive worth 3.6 degree difficulty. It moved him up to 411.25 – but he was still 16.35 adrift of Houlden. The level of accomplishment among the front-runners was astounding. None could afford to dip below that standard in the final round… Bouyer was also diving out of his skin. His early final effort – a Forward 4½ Somersaults Tuck (109C) with 3.8 DD – earned him 91.20 and much noise. Houlden stepped up – and dropped back. Wesemann, last to dive, only needed to better 73.00 to win. He managed that with a lot to spare, reaching a final staggering total of 506.80. “It’s an incredible feeling,” Wesemann told European Aquatics. “It’s insane to notice how intense the competition is. “I tried not to listen to any scores, but I did notice and saw how great the competition was, particularly with the scores from the British divers. I did feel a lot of pressure but I was astonished that I was actually able to win in the end and over 500 points. ” I knew I was going for a medal but I didn’t know if it would be good enough for gold or even fourth place. Having these scores at Europeans really pushes myself and the environment and really shows how strong Europe is in comparison to the other countries leading towards LA2028.” Bouyard commented: “It was amazing today. I didn’t know when the next competition in France would be and the public was incredible. I think they
Paris 2026: Pellacani wins historic fifth diving gold, Ternovoi secures men’s 10m title with 100.80 score and Germany take Championship Trophy
Chiara Pellacani will leave Paris with five European gold medals from a single Championships – a feat no other diver has achieved – after partnering Elisa Pizzini to victory in an incident-packed women’s 3m synchro final. It was a historic triumph for the 23-year-old Italian athlete, who has already stood atop the podium in the Olympic Aquatic Centre after the women’s 1m – where she retained her title – the women’s 3m, the mixed 3m synchro and the mixed team event. The diving programme concluded with a men’s 10m platform final of staggering quality that saw NAB athlete Ruslan Ternovoi, who had already secured 10m synchro gold with Nikita Shleikher, crowning his performance with a fifth-round dive yielding 100.80 which secured him the title with one round to go. Brilliant performances from two young German athletes – 21-year-old Jaden Eikermann Gregorchuk and 18-year-old Ole Rosler – secured respective silver and gold in a competition where Ukraine’s defending champion Oleksii Sereda finished sixth. Their efforts helped Germany earn the Championship Trophy, which was presented to their double gold medallist Moritz Wesemann by Otylia Jedrzejczak, EA Bureau Liaison. Pellacani’s contribution was enough to leave Italy top of the medals table with five golds, a silver and a bronze. Germany were second with three golds, four silvers and four bronzes, and Neutral Athletes B finished third with two golds, three silvers and a bronze. “This means a lot for me, especially with Elisa because we have been working a lot for this moment and it was not easy,” Pellacani told European Aquatics. “But I am so proud of our team because we were able to show all the work we did before coming here.” Pizzini added: “I was a little bit scared! Because I knew we wanted to bring home gold. But I am so happy that we were able to jump with no stress. We’ve done it together, and it’s so good. I’m so grateful to Chiara that she has me as her partner. “It was good to see all our successes, but it put some pressure on me because I wanted to do something good too! So I’m so glad to have helped the team.” The stellar level of this men’s 10m platform final was evident from the first round. Ternovoi executed the same Inward 3½ Somersaults Tuck (407C) dive with degree difficulty 3.2 that Williams – competing in the venue where he won 10m bronze at the Paris 2024 Games – and Sereda had for respective scores of 81.60 and 80.00. He took it another level as he scored 89.60 to go top, scoring the first 10 of these Championships. While the general populace was taking that in, Germany’s 18-year-old Rosler stepped up to produce an even more astonishing effort – albeit with a DD of 3.6 – scoring 97.20, the highest registered at these Championships, with his Back 2½ Somersaults 2½ Twists Pike (5255B) dive. And Rosler’s team-mate Eikermann Gregorchuk, who had beaten him to top spot in the morning’s preliminaries on 486.50, completed a round of dazzling accomplishment with a score of 86.70 for his Reverse 3½ Somersaults Tuck (307C) dive with 3.4 degree difficulty. The second round saw Sereda’s 16-year-old team mate Mark Hrytsenko enter the high-scoring lists as he generated 94.35 with his Forward 4½ Somersaults Tuck (109C) dive with 3.7 degree difficulty. Sereda executed the same dive soon after, but his score of 77.70, while highly respectable, was not enough to keep him at the forefront of the competition. Ternovoi nudged into the lead with a score of 76.80 that took his total to 166.40, but it seemed only a matter of time before Rosler resumed at the top. Except that he didn’t, with human frailty creeping into his performance as he scored just 45.90 on a 3.4 degree difficulty dive to drop to eighth place going into round three on 143.10. His team-mate Eikermann Gregorchuk also dropped one place off a medal position after a score of 68.40 left him on 155.10. So Ternovoi, Hrytsenko and Sereda led into round three with less than 10 points between them. Sereda moved top with his third dive as he earned 81.60 to total 239.90, above his younger team-mate on 230.70, but was shortly overtaken by Ternovoi, whose 76.50 saw him onto a total of 242.90. How would the Germans who concluded each round fare this time? Rosler’s rollercoaster was now moving in the right direction as he scored 78.40, although he remained eighth. His team-mate Eikermann Gregorchuk was more emphatic as his 86.40 took him up to second place behind Ternovoi on 241.50 at the halfway point. A huge mistake in the first round had hampered the progress of NAB’s Miroslav Kiselev, four times European junior gold medallist last month and, at 14, the youngest diver in these Championships. But he proved his massive potential as he scored an 89.10 on his fourth-round dive, a beautifully executed Armstand Back 3 Somersaults Tuck (626C) dive with degree difficulty 3.3. Williams revived his hopes with a score of 88.20 that put him ahead with 311.10. But the hopes of the defending champion plummeted as he misjudged a dive with a 3.6 DD and scored just 46.80 for a total of 286.10. The late German show was good for Rosler – who moved up to fifth with a total of 304.70 after scoring 83.20 – and also for Eikermann Gregorchuk, whose score of 80.00 moved him second behind Ternovoi, by 6.50, on 321.50. The penultimate round saw a mistake by Williams, who had stood third, drop him down the order as he managed a score of only 33.30. Sereda recovered his equilibrium with a score of 86.40 for his Armstand Back Double Somersault 2½ Twists Free (6245D) worth 3.6 DD. But his fine effort was eclipsed by the next dive as Ternovoi, just as he had in his victorious 10m synchro competition, scored hugely on his Back 3½ Somersaults Pike (207B) dive with a DD of 3.6, scoring
Paris 2026: Italy’s Pellacani and Sereda of Ukraine get trophies as women’s and men’s divers of 2025
Italy’s Chiara Pellacani, who has already secured four gold medals at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, received yet another accolade tonight as she was presented with her trophy for being voted EA women’s diver of the year for 2025. Ukraine’s Oleksii Sereda also received a trophy as best men’s diver in the 2025 European Aquatics Athlete of the Year Awards after a season in which he earned his first individual world medal. Pellacani claimed 41.56% of the vote after a season of historic achievement in individual and mixed competition. At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore she combined with Matteo Santoro in the 3m synchro to earn Italy’s first world diving gold since 2015. It was the culmination of ambition for a pair who had been mixed 3m synchro silver medallists at the World Aquatics Championships in 2022 and 2024 and bronze medallists in 2023. Pellacani, who had previously earned four world medals in synchro events, also made an individual breakthrough in Singapore as she won bronze medals in the 1m and 3m springboard. Earlier in the summer Pellacani had achieved success at the European Aquatics Diving Championships in Antalya, where she won the 1m springboard title and she and Santoro took 3m synchro silver. “It was an amazing year for me, full of emotions,” she told European Aquatics. “Singapore 2025 for me was probably the highlight of the year, it was my best World Championships so far and I’m very proud and happy for 2025. “I was looking for that medal (individual 3m springboard) for a long time. I think the three medals all have different emotions. 1m (bronze) was my first-ever individual medal at the World Championships so it’s very special. Then the Mixed Synchro (gold) with Matteo who is like my little brother and then the 3m individual (bronze) was very important for me as it’s my competition, I love it and that makes it so special. “I think it was very important for me to compete at Europeans to get ready for the World Championships in Singapore. There were a lot of good divers, good competition and it was a crucial step to getting to Singapore and competing at that level. “For me it’s very special. I love the Europeans, I have so many friends. and I feel like the environment is so fun, so it’s always an honour for me to compete here.” Sereda, now 20, secured a 33.23% share of the total vote after a season in which he took silver in a dramatic 10m platform contest in Singapore that was won with a final flourish by Australia’s Cassiel Rousseau. Sereda thus added to the 10m mixed synchro and 10m synchro silvers he had earned at the respective 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Two months earlier at the European Aquatics Diving Championships in Antalya Sereda had won three golds to help Ukraine top the medals table with a total of seven medals. The victories came in the mixed team event, the 10m synchro – in partnership with 15-year-old Mark Hrytsenko – and, for a third time, the 10m platform event which he had previously won as a 14-year-old at the home Championships in Kyiv 2019 and at the 2022 Championships in Rome. Sereda’s season had begun in promising fashion when he won two medals at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup – Super Final. “I am really happy to get this award and I understand that it means a lot,” Sereda said. “It motivates me even more to keep working harder and then hopefully one day I’ll become the best diver in the world. “This (award) will go in my home, in Mykolaiv, where I keep all of the medals and awards I win. They make me happy and sometimes I sit and look at them, but honestly I am someone who is happy for the day and then thinks about the next target and that is what I’m doing here now in Paris.” Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Pellacani has European night of nights with golds in mixed 3m synchro and women’s 1m
Italian fans celebrated hugely after witnessing a peerless exhibition of diving from Chiara Pellacani, who ended day 3 at the European Aquatics Championships with two golds – the first partnering Matteo Santoro in the mixed 3m synchro, the second in retaining her women’s 1m springboard title. The chant of “Chiara, Chiara, Chiara!!” rang out at the Olympic Aquatics Centre after a peerless exhibition of diving in which, over the course of the evening, she had won every round contested. This was her European night of nights. In the mixed 3m syncho she and Santoro, reigning world champions, finished almost 20 points clear of their nearest opposition, the NAB’s Ilia Molchanov and Elizaveta Kuzina, to win their third European title together. In third place were Germany’s defending champions Lena Hentschel and Luis Avila Sanchez, who had beaten them to the title a year earlier by just 0.03. Pellacani, who had also earned mixed team gold on day 1 of the diving, produced a margin of victory in the women’s 1m springboard that was even more emphatic – she finished 40 points clear of second-placed Michelle Heimberg of Switzerland, needing only to better 13.90 with her final dive to win. That she managed with something to spare, finishing with a total of 298.90, with Heimberg, bronze medallist in this event last year, taking silver on 258.80. Bronze went to Great Britain’s inspired Desharne Bent-Ashmeil, the 2024 3m springboard champion, who was 12th and last qualifier in the morning but who totalled 254.35 to finish ahead of NAB athlete Uliana Kliueva on 251.20. The previous year Pellacani and Santoro had pair appeared on the brink of victory after their final dive left the Germans needing to score more than 72.51 to win. Hentschel and the 19-year-old Avila Sanchez, making his international debut, duly produced a finale worth 72.54, taking gold by the narrowest winning margin in the event since it was introduced to the Championships in 2016. There was no such drama today as a pairing who have known each other since childhood and competed together internationally for six years showed almost preternatural understanding, winning every one of the five rounds. Santoro had failed to reach the previous day’s men’s 1m springboard final after finishing a dejected 17th in the preliminaries, but he looked a different athlete 24 hours later as he and his partner put the rest of the field under relentless pressure from the start. After scoring 69.30 and 69.75 in rounds three and four they arrived for their final effort with the gold theirs to win. There was no faltering as their Inward 2½ Somersaults Pike (405B), with a degree difficulty of 3.0, earned them 70.20. Germany responded well, but their last score of 67.89, the best they had produced, could not bridge the gap this time as they finished on 284.19. The NAB pairing of Ilia Molchanov and Elizaveta Kuzina then did what they needed to maintain silver-medal position with a final total of 286.17. Ukraine’s pairing of Kyrylo Azarov and Diana Karnafels put together a late charge similar to their team’s efforts in the two earlier events, but on this occasion they fell just short of the podium, placing fourth on 273.60, with Switzerland’s Michelle Heimberg and Erik Passerone fifth on 263.85. Home pairing Gwendal Bisch and Nais Gillet raised early hopes after finishing second in the opening round, but subsequently dropped to sixth, totalling 252.33. There was further distress for Gillet in the women’s 1m final, where she went into the fourth of the five rounds in second place but produced two bad dives that left her in 12th place. Speaking about the mixed 3m synchro win, Pellacani told European Aquatics: “We were very confident. We didn’t practice too much together as always, but we are very similar divers so it’s kind of natural for us to dive together. But we are very proud of our performance, it was very consistent and we are very happy.” Santoro added: “We knew we had a lead but we were just doing our dives without thinking too much about it. I was pretty nervous because I was sad about yesterday, which was a bad day. So I wanted to do well. “I had so much fun with Chiara it was magical. We are like brother and sister, we have known each other since I was four she was eight.” Pellacani added: “I feel we can understand each other just by looking each other in the eyes. That is very helpful for us. Honestly we just enjoy so much diving together. And this is why it works so well.” Asked if she had ever had a winning margin such as she achieved in the women’s 1m springboard, Pellacani responded: “No, I don’t think so. This is the first time, I felt like I was ready for this competition. I worked so hard in the preparation with my coach and I just felt like it was my moment. This is my personal best by a lot of points so I am very proud and happy.” Asked about needing just over 13 points on her last dive to win, she replied: “I knew I needed those points. But I was focusing on finishing well and I was trying to hit 300 – at that point that was the goal. I’m happy I managed to finish so close. “This is the first time for me winning two golds. It means a lot to me. I was very confident, but it’s something you dream about and when it happens it is something very magical – and I loved it.” Speaking about earning bronze in the mixed 3m synchro, Germany’s Hentschel commented: “We are very happy with the bronze. We struggled a little bit at the beginning but we finished really strong.” 1m silver medallist Heimberg said: “I’m really happy, it’s already my ninth medal at Europeans. For a country like Switzerland where diving is not so huge it’s amazing and I am proud of
Paris 2026: Pellacani is perfection as she earns fourth diving gold on day five while Neutral Athletes B rule men’s 10m synchro
Italy’s Chiara Pellacani laid claim to being the diver of the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 as she earned her fourth gold medal with a peerless sequence of performances in the women’s 3m springboard, adding to the titles she had already won in the mixed team, 1m and 3m synchro with Matteo Santoro. Pellacani was simply different class as she totalled 358.05 with a similar margin of victory as she had earned in her 1m final – almost 40 points – with silver going to Great Britain’s Yasmin Harper and NAB’s Nadezhda Trifonova taking bronze. Earlier on day five in the men’s 10m synchro Ukraine’s defending champions Oleksii Sereda and Mark Hrytsenko had to settle for bronze after a pulverising display by the NAB’s world silver medallists Nikita Shleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi, who earned one monster score of 96.12, with Italy’s Simone Conte and Raffaele Pelligra taking silver. “I don’t even know how to describe it, I just feel like I was so ready for this moment, the preparation, the training, it was all really great,” Pellacani told European Aquatics. “I felt very confident and I think that was the key. It was my goal and it feels amazing to actually do it, because you dream about it and now it’s just so magical. I feel like I was focusing day-by-day, competition by competition, dive by dive and I wasn’t thinking about everything and just winning, but that helped me keep the pressure off. I just wanted to really enjoy the moment “Honestly it’s crazy, i wasn’t expecting all these people, so many Italians, so much support and i’m so grateful for this as it just makes everything more emotional and more exciting. I’m just so grateful to everyone who came here, including my family, who were here today and I’m so proud. “We have a lot of young people on the team for the first time and they’re all performing so well and I’m so proud of them. This is a great sport and it deserves more attention.” Trifonova, who won gold and two silvers at the European juniors, commented: “I’ve had a long season including the European Junior Championships, and now the senior Championships. This medal means a lot because it is start of a serious career for me. Now I am confident that I belong with the elite.” Pellacani had dominated the morning’s preliminaries and she started the final in similar mode with opening scores of 67.50 and 72.00 which sent her into the third round with a total of 139.50 and a winning margin over NAB’s Nadezhda Trifonova of 9.00. The NAB athlete had finished second in the preliminaries, followed by Switzerland’s 2025 gold medallist Michelle Heimberg – but after scoring 45.00 in round one the defending champion’s challenge was over as it was announced she had had to withdraw from the competition. Pellacani upped the ante in round three, earning 79.05 from a Forward 3½ Somersaults Pike (107B) dive with 3.1 degree difficulty to reach 218.55. But now her winning margin – 25.05 – was over Great Britain’s Paris 2024 and 2025 world 3m synchro bronze medallist Yasmin Harper, who had been consistently in the 60-plus range and whose third round of 69.00 moved her up to second place on 193.50. Trifonova dropped to third after scoring 58.50. It was Harper, third in the order, whose turn it was to falter in round four as she scored 57.00 and awaited the consequences.She remained top until the final two dives of the round from Trifonova and then Pellacani. The NAB athlete scored 64.50 to move past her with a total of 253.50 and Pellacani, requiring only more than 34.95 to regain the heights, did a little more than that with a score of 72.00 that moved her total to 290.55 – and a margin of 37.05. Harper finished strong, recovering her fortunes with a concluding 68.20 that put her once again into the leading-but-awaiting game with a final total of 318.70. She ended with silver in the venue where she had won Paris 2024 bronze in the 3m synchro with Scarlett Mew Jensen. This time however Trifonova, needing to surpass 65.20 to pass her, failed to do so as she scored a concluding 58.90 that would shortly earn her bronze on 312.40 as Pellacani concluded her demonstration of the diving art with a final score of 67.50 that took her golden total to 358.05 – with a winning margin of 39.35. Very soon the delirious chant of “Chiara, Chiara, Chiara” rang out once again in the Olympic Aquatic Centre. The NAB pairing produced a performance of similar mastery to earn their first international title in the men’s 10m synchro. “It’s the first gold medal for us as a pair, the first time winning,” Shleikher told European Aquatics. “Not everything was perfect and we have lots to improve but that gives us the motivation to try for more golds in future events. Asked whether their silver-medal success at Singapore last year had brought more pressure or confidence, Ternovoi responded: “Previous events don’t matter, whether it was good or bad, when you go in to a new competition. “But we had to be confident heading in to a European Championships, in order for ourselves to achieve the best result,” Regarding their target for the future, Shleikher added: “We feel there are a few spaces to improve and first of all the goal is an Olympic medal and for that you can’t be an eight out of 10, you must be brilliant.” Shleikher – who had earned 3m synchro silver with Evgenii Kuznetsov the day before – and Ternovoi started as they meant to go on in round one as they established a lead on 52.80 from Great Britain on 51.60 and Germany on 50.40. In the second round the defending champions needed to upgrade after placing fifth but they had to settle for 45.00 and they slipped further off the lead as the NAB pairing, diving immediately
Paris 2026: Bond earns second gold for Britain and Germany’s new pair win men’s 3m synchro on day 4
Great Britain’s Maisie Bond became a double European gold medallist at the age of 19 as she added the women’s 10m platform title to the women’s 10m synchro she had earned two days earlier with Lois Toulson. She put out of mind her blip in the morning qualifying, where she dropped from first to fifth, keeping her nerve to defeat a field that included all three of last year’s medallists, with Pauline Pfeif of Germany and Dutch diver Else Praasterink repeating their respective silver and bronze performances of 2025. Earlier Germany won the men’s 3m synchro as Lou Massenberg and 21-year-old Jonathan Schauer, who had narrowly defeated the 2025 champions Moritz Wesemann and Timo Barthel in the national trials, maintained their winning mode in admirable fashion. Silver went to NAB’s 36-year-old Evgenii Kuznetsov and Nikita Shleikher, with Italy’s Stefano Belotti and Matteo Santoro, who had won mixed 3m synchro gold with Chiara Pellacani the previous night, snatching bronze from Britain’s Olympic bronze medallists Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher with the last dive of the final. Bond had finished fifth in the morning’s preliminaries having put herself into a winning position with an excellent dive in the penultimate round before dropping off in her final effort. “I’m surprised, to be honest,” Bond told European Aquatics. “I knew I could do it but it’s not been an ideal season for me. This was only my third competition of the season. It’s not been an ideal season for me, it’s been difficult, the hardest I’ve had. “Back in March I was going to quit. So I think I’m very surprised but also it’s relieving. I know I worked hard for this, but I lost a lot of confidence in myself and my ability, so to be able to have this, and that proof that I am good means I can build back confidence again from now.” Asked if she was thinking about her dropped last dive in qualifying when she lined up for her final effort of the evening she replied: “Yes! That was the only thing I was thinking – did not want to land on my back, did not want to land on my back. That was all. “I tried to keep calm and composed but it was very difficult when I knew what I had done previously. I just wanted to improve from the prelims and do my best. It was better than the prelims so I’m glad for that.” Asked if she was aware of the support from the crowd, she responded: “I can always hear my team mates and I always look to my Mum in the crowd. “I always feel supported whether I am doing the worst performance or the best.” She was back to her assured best in the opening round of the final as she totalled 67.20, a score that was only surpassed by Germany’s 2025 world and European silver medallist Pauline Pfeif, who totalled 70.50. There was a poor opening effort from Italy’s defending champion Sarah Jodoin di Maria, who totalled 46.40 to go into round two, and Spain’s 19-year-old Ana Carvajal, winner of the preliminaries, who scored the same to finish joint 11th. Bond also nailed her second dive, scoring 68.15 to total 135.35. And this time Pfeif didn’t come past her after a score of 62.40 left her on 132.90. Jodoin di Maria improved marginally in the second round, with 58.50, but still went into round three in 11th place, while Carvajal rose to eighth. Bond’s momentum faltered with her third dive as she scored 52.50 for a total of 187.86. She was in front – but four were still to dive, including Pfeif. Elsie Praasterink of The Netherlands moved past her with a score of 61.50 which gave her 189.85. Jodoin di Maria got back to business as usual with a 67.50 that took her to 172.10 before Pfeif took over at the top with a superb 75.50 for her Back 2½ Somersaults 1½ Twists Pike (5253B) with a degree difficulty of 3.2 which gave her a total of 208.10. As the field moved into the fourth round, the medal positions were held by Pfeif, Praasterink and Bond, with NAB’s European junior champion Alexandra Kedrina just 3.25 off a medal place. It was Kedrina’s turn to falter in round four as she dropped back after scoring 33.00. But Bond stepped up again, netting 76.80 for her Back 2½ Somersaults 1½ Twists Pike (5253B) with a degree difficulty of 3.2 to total 264.65. A 54.40 from Praasterink dropped her to second behind Bond, and Jodoin di Maria’s second successive 67.20 saw her move into third place. All eyes were on Pfeif…and this time it was the German who fell off her standard as she scored 34.80 to total 242.90. So, going into the fifth and final round, Bond led on 264.65, more than 20 points clear of her two closest challengers Praasterink on 244.35 and Pfeif on 242.90. Bond scored 62.40 on her last dive for a total of 327.05. Not certain for gold. Would anyone catch her? Praasterink was next – and the bronze medallist of 2025 scored 60.90 to move into second place on 305.15. What could the defending champion do? Jodoin di Maria couldn’t deliver more than 44.95. Pfeif then? But she was 84.15 adrift. And her score of 62.40 could only lift her to another silver medal on 305.30. Bond, 21.75 clear, was an individual – and synchro – European champion at 19. New medallists were guaranteed in the men’s 3m synchro event given that none of the medallists, including second-placed Lorenzo Marsaglia and Giovanni Tocci of Italy and third-placed Leon Baker and Hugo Thomas of Great Britain, were entered. First in the order, Laugher and Harding had the opportunity of laying down early markers in this competition and they took full advantage with a first effort that earned them 50.40 for a first-round lead of 0.60. They produced the same mark for their second 2.0 degree
Paris 2026: Wesemann’s wonder dive wins men’s 1m springboard title and Britain’s Toulson and Bond claim women’s 10m synchro gold on day 2
Two towering contests between British and German divers on day two of the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 produced golds for each nation as Maisie Bond and Lois Toulson won the women’s 10m synchro and Moritz Wesemann’s final wonder dive earned him victory in the men’s 1m springboard. Wesemann, defending the title he won in Antalya last year, went into the last of the six rounds trailing Jack Laugher – who had won Paris 2024 3m synchro bronze in this same Olympic Aquatic Centre two years earlier – by 8.85 points after the Briton had taken the lead with a penultimate round effort scoring 81.60. Laugher fell a little short of his best with a last dive that earned 64.35. But in order to win Wesemann was still left needing to better 73.20 with his final dive – a Reverse 1½ Somersaults 3½ Twists Free (5337D) with a huge degree difficulty of 3.6. It was all or nothing for the 24-year-old German – and it turned out to be all as he registered a magnificent 86.40 points to reach a final total of 431.45, with the 31-year-old Laugher adding a ninth European medal to his collection as he claimed silver on 418.25. Bronze went to Laugher’s team-mate Jordan Houlden who led after the fourth round but could not quite up his game from that point on, finishing on 410.30. It was at least a material reward for the man who finished an agonising fourth in both the 1m and 3m springboard at last year’s World Championships. “There was a lot of pressure on that last dive,” Wesemann told European Aquatics. “But I didn’t really follow the scores during the competition. “I knew I was doing well and I was going for a medal, but I had no idea if that was going for a gold or maybe just a bronze. “But I would say I had the highest heart rate in the last dive, and I could feel pressure, but I tried to just enjoy it and go with it and I just took whatever it was. “I would call it my signature dive because I have been doing it since I was a junior. I really do like this dive. But also for this one having a little bit of pressure gives you the adrenaline kick to hit the board and go for it. “Because on this dive you have to go all in or you don’t have a chance. So I think that might have helped me as well.” Laugher, who had qualified sixth in the morning’s preliminaries, commented: “It was a really good battle between me, Jordan and Moritz. “I didn’t have a degree of difficulty that the other boys had today, I had a slightly easier list, and I unfortunately dropped my last dive and Moritz’s last dive was just perfection. “So I am really glad to be amongst the medals, and after the performance this morning to turn it around and reach the podium is fantastic.” Italy’s Lorenzo Marsaglia, who won silver last year, was fifth on 387.00. Home hope Jules Bouyer, who had topped the morning’s preliminaries, recovered from a poor start to move into contention, but never got higher than fifth as he finished on 384.30. Toulson and Bond were top Europeans at last year’s World Aquatics Championships, finishing fifth, and that experience was evident throughout the competition – their level was high and, crucially, they were the most consistent pair. Marginally behind NAB after round one, they moved ahead before dropping back to second place, just 1.50 points adrift of Germany, who had scored 67.20 after deploying the first of their two 3.2 degree difficulty (DD) dives – an Inward 3½ Somersaults Tuck (407C). For the final two rounds, however, on both their 3.2 DD dives, the Britons were a model of effective resolve. After Germany – represented by Pauline Pfeif, who won this title last year, and her new partner Elena Wassen – dipped to a 64.80 score in round four the Toulson and Bond regained the lead with the same dive the Germans had used in round three, scoring 79.08. First in the order of diving, Pfeif and Wassen regained their top level with a gutsy final effort, scoring 72.00 for their Back 2½ Somersaults 1½ Twists Pike (5253B). Could the British pairing also maintain their level? The answer, emphatically, was yes as their own version of the 5253B dive yielded them exactly the same score as they had earned in round four – and giving them the title by 1.86 points. Bronze went to Ukraine’s Kseniia Bailo and Sofia Vystavkina, who matched the exploits of their compatriots in the previous night’s mixed team event by moving up to third position in the last round after recovering from a poor start. They totalled 286.20 to finish above Spain’s defending champions, Valeria Antolino and Ana Carvajal, who finished on 282.24. Toulson, 26, who won Olympic bronze in this venue two years ago with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, has now claimed this title three times with different partners, having having won with Eden Cheng in 2018 and with Spendolini-Sirieix in 2022. For the 19-year-old Bond 19 this was a first senior international championship medal – and it could not have been a better colour. Looking ahead to 2026 at the start of the year she told the Yorkshire Post: “This year I want to gain more confidence and more experience on the senior circuit,” adding that she wanted to reach the stage where she could “walk in there and not be like a rabbit in the headlights.” Job done. “We came into these Championships wanting to win and knowing it was possible,” Toulson said. “We’d been training really hard and looking good I think. “That was a pb for us. To be able to do that and get a gold medal…we’re really proud.” Bond commented: “I felt a bit of pressure coming into these Championships, especially as Lois had had so much
Paris 2026: Diving Coaches Clinic puts focus on Arm Stand technique
As part of the European Aquatics Diving Championships Paris 2026 coaches and diving professionals had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of one of the sport’s most demanding technical elements. A coaching clinic led by Great Britain’s renowned diving coach Alexei Evangulov addressed the topic of “The Arm Stand Dives – Technique, Methodology and Biomechanics, Developing Exercises. Arm Stand Dives in Competition Programs.” Around 50 participants gained valuable insights into the biomechanics and technical execution of arm stand dives, as well as practical training methodologies and developmental exercises. The clinic also examined the role of arm stand dives within modern competition programmes, offering coaches evidence-based approaches to athlete development and performance enhancement. “I’ve received a lot of verbal positive feedback,” Evangulov told European Aquatics. “I think people liked the content.” Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Italy earn first gold of EA Championships as Sereda inspires Ukraine to unlikely bronze
Italy earned the first gold of the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 in dramatic fashion at the Olympic Aquatic Centre today as they overtook the Neutral Athletes B quartet to win the mixed team diving event. There was drama too in the contest for bronze as the defending champions Ukraine came from a long way back to overtake Poland by just 0.15 points, with their 20-year-old talisman Oleksii Sereda rising to the challenge once again to claim a 12th European medal. Italy, bronze medallists in this event at last year’s Championships in Antalya, made a good start. Their world bronze medallist Chiara Pellacani and Matteo Santoro scoring 69.75 and 65.00 respectively on their individual dives before combining in the 3m synchro at which they are world champions to score 66.00 for a total of 198.75 after three rounds. The NAB, however, were leaders at that point on 203.30 thanks to a sound dive from Nadezhda Trifonova scoring 63.00 and an outstanding effort from Grigorii Ivanov, whose Forward 4½ Somersaults Tuck (109C) garnered 89.30 – the highest score of the competition. The two NAB contenders missed the chance to follow up their advantage however as, in a debut pairing in the 3m syncho, their effort went awry and they scored on 51.00. The baton then passed to the 10m platform specialists, and Italy tipped the scales in their favour as the 2025 women’s champion Sarah Jodoin di Maria scored 72.00 and Raffaele Pelligra excelled with his Back 3½ Somersaults Tuck (207C) to register 74.25 – to the obvious delight of the watching Pellacani. The immediate response from NAB was faltering as Ekaterina Beliaeva scored 59.20 and world silver medallist Ruslan Ternovoi earned 56.10, sending them into the final round in silver position by 26.40. Jodoin di Maria and Pelligra, making their 10m synchro debut in these Championships, maintained the gold standard with a concluding effort of 65.60 for a final total of 410.60. The gold was effectively secured, with NAB needing to better 92.00 with the final effort from Beliaeva and Ternovoi, who were also making their syncho debut together. A creditable 67.20 earned them silver on 385.80. “I think this competition is really good to start the meeting,” Pellacani told European Aquatics. “I was feeling a little bit nervous on my first dive and after that everyone did amazing, so it was very fun to compete.” Pelligra added: “I was very happy about my dive, and also in the synchro with Sarah because we didn’t practice a lot so we were very happy about how it went.” Jodoin di Maria commented: “I am very happy about my dives and all the team’s dives. It was the first time Raffaele and I made synchro so it was fun. I think it was a great competition and it’s a good start to the competition!” Sereda, who led Ukraine to victory in this event last year in Antalya, was the driving force as they rose into contention. After the first two 3m dives Ukraine were eighth out of nine with 85.00 points. Sereda paired with Kseniia Bochek in the 3m synchro to move the team back in the direction as they scored 63.00 But at this point they were still seventh, and 25.95 points behind Poland in third place. Having played his part in the springboard diving the world silver medallist lived up to his reputation in the 10m competition, following Kseniia Bailo’s gutsy 67.20 with an individual effort of 81.00. A final effort of 75.20 from Poland’s Maria Lukaszewicz and Maciej Bujak earned a concluding score of 368.05 which left the Ukrainian pair needing something around 72.00 to take bronze. They scored 72.00. “It was pretty intense and we were happy to get a bronze medal and to start like this,” Sereda said. “Of course we didn’t make our best, we had some mistakes in our programme, but still it’s a great start. “I’m not nervous too much because I have a lot of European Championships already and I feel confident when I dive here. That’s experience!” NAB’s Ivanov commented: “It was not perfect but it’s good for a start. There were two debuts in our synchro today. Of course we did some bad work. But it is what it is and I am looking forward to the next events.” Ternovoi added: “This is really a team competition because I did a mistake today but the team was good enough to get a silver.” Fifth place went to Spain on 346.30, with France – who thrilled home supporters by taking up bronze-medal position after two rounds – finishing sixth on 338.60. Germany, silver medallists a year earlier, had a disappointing result, finishing seventh on 319.20. 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