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: Latest European Aquatics Championships set new benchmark for success on all fronts
Paris 2026 was a major success for European Aquatics and a new benchmark for the organisation of our flagship Championships, which involved 1,268 athletes – including, for the first time, para swimmers – and 615 volunteers. Diving, artistic swimming and swimming took place in the Paris 2024 legacy venue of the Olympic Aquatic Centre, while open water swimming and high diving took place at the River Seine. There was strong home support in both venues, which offered high-quality sports presentation resulting in significant spectator experiences. Organisers reported more than 100,000 tickets sold, with the Olympic Aquatic Centre being sold out for evening sessions and close to sold out for morning sessions. International media coverage was substantial and extended beyond specialist aquatics media. Reuters covered major sporting stories and world records; Associated Press and The Times focused on high diving in the Seine and the transformation of Paris’s river into a sporting environment, following through with swimming coverage. L’Équipe provided extensive coverage across the disciplines; and Eurovision Sport provided live and on-demand distribution, including a dedicated UK partnership with Aquatics GB. Home athletes rose to expectations, especially in the swimming, where France finished sixth in the medal table with six golds in a total of 14. The fact that two of those golds were secured by the French sporting icon Leon Marchand, four-times Paris 2024 gold medallist, guaranteed the Championships made headline news around the world. Marchand was able to compete despite having to reduce his schedule as he carried a lingering hip adductor injury into competition. But the 24-year-old Texas-bases swimmer went above and beyond by helping the hosts earn silver and bronze in the men’s 4x200m freestyle and men’s 4x100m medley respectively. Two 19-year-olds also accrued worldwide exposure with world record performances. Germany’s Johannes Liebmann, who won the men’s 800m freestyle in a European record of 7:37.59, completed the double by taking almost four seconds off the men’s 1500m freestyle world record in 13:26.79. And Sara Curtis of Italy posted successive world records in winning her first European title in the 50m backstroke, clocking 26.62 in the semi-final and 36.56 in the final. A total of 33 records were set during the swimming competition, and one was equalled. Men’s and women’s para swimming in the 50m and 100m freestyle was incorporated in the main programme over the closing weekend – a landmark inclusion – and the performances received widespread appreciation and support. Continuing the ongoing work of the European Aquatics Academy, expert-led coaching clinics were held during the Championships for swimming, artistic swimming, diving, high diving and open water swimming. Paris 2026 featured a well attended and highly successful two-day European Aquatics Swim Safe Conference involving experts, partners and leading administrators which stressed the vital challenge of ensuring more children were taught to swim and to understand wider water safety. There were also a series of searching analyses on the challenges of gaining funding for safety projects, as well as a number of contributions highlighting the smart technology breakthroughs involving swimming pool regeneration and AI safety features. The European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 event also incorporated a tangible legacy programme, including swimming opportunities for children and permanent learn-to-swim capacity at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. The breadth and quality of legacy and inclusion initiatives at Paris 2026 were marked on the concluding day of the Championships by the award of a State Equality (Terrain d’Egalite) label testifying to its certification by the French national standards organisation Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR). The award was conferred on the French Swimming Federation (FFN) by Marina Ferrari, Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life. A social ticketing system was established enabling the distribution of about 6,000 tickets to audiences from disadvantaged backgrounds. An accessibility policy was developed for disabled people focusing in particular on the inclusion of para-swimming events, digital accessibility, and the conditions for welcoming event spectators. The fight against discrimination with specific work around combating LGBTphobia in collaboration with the FIER Foundation. A WeCare Team of over 100 volunteers out of the 600 at the event was specially trained to welcome people with disabilities. Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Marchand signs off with second gold as Kos, Quadarella and Meilutyte secure landmark wins
Leon Marchand earned an audacious victory in the men’s 400m freestyle before helping France secure bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley as the hugely successful European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 came to an end. Huge cheers of “Leon, Leon, Leon” rang out once again from the packed stands in the Olympic Aquatic Centre as the home fans saluted the four-time Paris 2024 champion’s second individual win here after his 200m butterfly flourish. Elsewhere in a tumultuous final session there were landmark achievements for Italy’s Simona Quadarella, who won the women’s 400m freestyle to secure a third distance event “triple”, and for Hungary’s Hubert Kos, who earned a third consecutive European men’s 200m individual medley title. Lithuania’s 50m breaststroke world record holder Ruta Meilutyte also registered in the multiple winners list as she earned her third European title in that event by just 0.01. Two more wins on the night secured Great Britain’s place at the top of the medals table with eight golds. Keanna Macinnes was victorious in the women’s 200m butterfly gold before helping the women’s 4x100m medley relay team set a Championship record of 3:53.50. Italy finished second in the medals table with six golds, with Neutral Athletes B third after securing five golds, the last of which came in the concluding men’s 4x100m medley, where they clocked 3:28.67, with Italy second in 3:28.86 and France third in 3:29.03. With a total of 20 medals to Great Britain’s 14, Italy were winners of the Championship Trophy. Lauren Cox, women’s 100m breaststroke winner Angharad Evans, Keanna Macinnes, fresh from her women’s 200m butterfly win and anchor leg swimmer Freya Colbert proved just too much in the women’s 4x100m medley for an Italian team who clocked 3:53.60. That meant a second relay silver at these Championships for 19-year-old Sara Curtis, who also won a relay bronze, two individual bronzes a gold in the women’s 50m backstroke, where she set two world records. Bronze went to NAB in 3:53.79. Marchand’s lingering and untimely hip adductor injury may have forced him to drop events involving breaststroke, but he has nevertheless made a huge impact at a home Championships where expectations of him remained sky high. The 24-year-old Texas-based athlete leaves Paris with two individual golds, and a silver and bronze in relay racing. He annexed another area of operation tonight with an inexorable victory in the relatively unfamiliar event of the men’s 400m freestyle, clocking a French record of 3:43.14 after leading from start to finish against a hugely talented field including Germany’s world and Olympic champion and world record holder Lukas Martens. Marchand was never seriously challenged, with his powerful turns and lengthy underwaters setting him up again and again to advantage. There had been an early pointer to his potential in this event in the form of his super-split of 1:43.76 recorded in helping France win men’s 4x200m freestyle silver on the opening night. That promise was overwhelmingly confirmed in a final where Martens, who had only qualified eighth, came through for bronze in 3:44.57 behind Hungary’s Oliver Papai, who claimed silver in 3:44.46. Quadarella won women’s 400m freestyle gold with a pulverising final 50m to earn a third European distance triple having already won the women’s 800m and 1500m freestyle. The Italian had not been ahead in the race as the final turn arrived, but she overhauled Isabel Gose, double European gold medallist in open water swimming here, to finish comfortably clear in a Championship record of 4:01.34. Gose earned her third distance silver in the pool as she clocked 4:02.41, with her 21-year-old team-mate Maya Werner, fastest qualifier, taking bronze in 4:03.73. “I’m really happy as it was a close race and I didn’t expect this in the race,” Quadarella told European Aquatics. “It’s my third gold and I couldn’t ask for more. “This is the most special because 400m is not my distance and it’s really difficult because of the speed. I’m very proud of me and all the hard work I’ve done.” Kos secured a third consecutive European 200m individual medley title under heavy pressure in the final freestyle leg from Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez, who was fastest qualifier for the final in a Championship record of 1:56.61. The 23-year-old from Budapest, who also won 200m backstroke gold earlier in the week, surpassed Gonzalez’s Championship mark as he touched for gold in 1:54.24, with the Spaniard taking silver in 1.54.44. Duncan Scott was beaten to bronze by NAB’s 18-year-old European junior champion Mikhail Shcherbakov, who set a world junior record of 1:56.16, with the Briton clocking 1:56.32. Meilutyte clocked 29.93 in the women’s 50m breaststroke as she touched just ahead of Italy’s Benedetta Pilato, who won this title in 2020. Ireland’s Mona McSharry of Ireland, Paris 2024 100m breaststroke bronze medallist, who already had silver and bronze from the 100m and 200m breaststroke respectively, added another bronze to her collection, just 0.02 behind the champion. Macinnes, who won double Commonwealth silver in Glasgow last month, earned her first European medal in winning the women’s 200m butterfly title in a time of 2:05.90. Denmark’s defending champion Helena Bach took silver in 2:06.14, with bronze going to Spain’s Laura Cabanes in 2:07.21. Ukraine’s 19-year-old Nikita Sheremet – what is it about this age and these Championships? – earned the first swimming medal of these Championships for his country – and it was golden as he clocked 21.13 in the opening men’s 50m freestyle. NAB’s Egor Kornev, individual champion in the men’s 50m butterfly and silver medallist in the 100m freestyle, with additional gold and silver in relays, added one more silver – shared with Serbia’s Andrej Barna after both clocked 21.37. Hungary’s 100m butterfly champion Kristof Milak was fourth in 21.46, breaking Laszlo Cseh’s 2009 national record. Apostolos Christou earned the first gold of these Championships for Greece as he made a successful defence of his men’s 100m backstroke title. Christou clocked 52.27 to beat Italy’s Paris 2024 champion Thomas Ceccon, winner of this event in Rome four
Paris 2026: Records re-written at momentous European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026
As the last ripples flow from an outstanding European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 its legacy in terms of world and continental swimming can be partly expressed by the list of records broken during the seven-day programme at the Olympic Aquatic Centre. A total of 33 records were set and one equalled, with the list being headed by the world records from two hugely talented 19-year-olds – Johannes Liebmann of Germany and Italy’s Sara Curtis. Liebmann pulverised the men’s 1500m freestyle world record, becoming the first man to go under 14.30 with a time of 14.26.79. He thus took almost four seconds off the mark of 14.30.67 set by Bobby Finke of the United States in winning at the Paris 2024 Games. “The time is insane,” he told European Aquatics. “But I knew I could go fast and that was the plan.” Liebmann had earlier improved his own European record to 7:37.59 in winning 800m freestyle gold. Curtis set her first world record of 26.63 in the women’s 50m backstroke semi-finals, erasing the mark of 26.68 set by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown in Budapest three years ago. She followed up in the final with a time of 26.56 as she earned her first senior European gold. Double women’s world 100m freestyle champion Marrit Steenbergen set three successive Championship records of 52.62, 52.44 and 51.90 in securing the European title in that event. Her accomplishment was matched by Great Britain’s Angharad Evans, who set Championship marks of 1:05.45, 1:04.97 and 1:04.87 in winning women’s 100m breaststroke gold. France’s Mary-Ambre Moluh set European women’s 100m backstroke records of 57.99 and 57.94 in the women’s 4x100m medley and women’s 100m backstroke final repectively. Hungary’s world and Olympic champion Hubert Kos set a European record of 1:52.30 in the men’s 200m backstroke final, and another European record fell when his team-mate Kristof Milak clocked 49.48 in the men’s 100m butterfly final. David Popovici of Romania lowered the men’s 100m freestyle Championship record to 46.72 and 46.56 in the semi-finals and final. World junior records were set by home swimmer Nathan Muratory, who clocked 1:54.87 in the men’s 200m backstroke heats, and NAB’s Mikhail Shcherbakov, who recorded 1:56.16 in the men’s 200m individual medley final. Belgium’s 21-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk equalled the women’s 100m butterfly Championship record when she recorded 55.89 in the semi-finals. Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
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
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
Paris 2026: Popovici and Steenbergen receive 2025 Swimming Athlete of the Year trophies
Romania’s David Popovici and the Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen, who between them have collected three individual gold medals so far in the pool at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, received their trophies at the end of the medal ceremonies on 14 August for being voted European Aquatics men’s and women’s swimmers of 2025. The presentation was made by European Aquatics President Antonio Silva. Popovici completed his familiar 100m/200m freestyle double for a third straight Championships, while Steenbergen reclaimed the 100m freestyle title she first won at Rome’s edition of the Championships in 2022, alongside an impressive gold with her country in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Popovici claimed 37.94% of the vote in the 2025 Athlete of the Year Awards, edging out 2024 winner Leon Marchand of France, who polled 31.52%, in a contest that weighed both senior and U23-level performances. At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Romanian topped the fastest 100m freestyle podium in history in 46.51, just 0.11 off the world record, before adding the 200m freestyle title in 1:43.53. He had already served notice of that form at the European Aquatics U23 Championships in Samorin, where he lowered his own 100m freestyle European record to 46.71 en route to a 100/200m double. Hungary’s Hubert Kos placed third in the voting with 16.57%. In Paris, Popovici extended that dominance further, defending his 100m title in a championship record of 46.56 on 12 August before completing what he called the “treble double” with 200m gold in 1:44.15 on 14 August, the same day he collected his trophy. Steenbergen’s award followed an incredible 2025, as she earned 36.29% of the vote for a campaign that spanned both long course and short course competition. She opened 2025 by defending her 100m freestyle world title in Singapore in 52.55, ahead of Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan and the United States’ Torri Huske, before helping the Netherlands to bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Her form then reached new heights at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, where she won five gold medals and set five European records. Italy’s Simona Quadarella was runner-up in the vote with 24.48%, having defended her world 800m and 1500m freestyle titles in Singapore. Steenbergen carried her 2025 form straight into Paris, winning the 100m freestyle in a championship record of 51.90 ahead of Dutch teammate Milou van Wijk, and setting the fastest relay split in history with a 50.87 anchor leg in the mixed medley relay. Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: “Superwoman” Curtis strikes again with second world record as super-fast Milak reclaims golden standing
“Superwoman” Sara Curtis, Italy’s 19-year-old swimming sensation, struck again at a packed Olympic Aquatic Centre, following up her previous night’s women’s 50m backstroke world record with another – 26.56 – as she earned her first senior European gold. Shortly beforehand home swimmer Maxime Grousset was beaten to men’s 100m butterfly gold over the last few strokes by Hungary’s Paris 2024 champion Kristof Milak in a European record of 49.48 – eclipsing the mark of 49.68 set by Grousset in winning world gold last year and just 0.03 off the world record set by Caeleb Dressel of the United States at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Milak concluded the evening’s entertainment in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay with a staggering final leg of 46.29 – comfortably inside the official world record of 46.40 set by China’s Pan Zhanle at the Paris 2024 Games – which earned gold for him and his team-mates Hubert Kos, the men’s 200m backstroke champion, Szebasztian Szabo and Nandor Nemeth. NAB took silver, 0.09 back, with bronze going to Croatia, led off by EA short course 50m freestyle champion Jere Hribar, in 3:11.08. There had been much speculation about whether he would contest the relay here. It seems he made the right decision.. It transpired that decision was taken shortly after lunch in a conversation Milak had with his coach. His team-mates reportedly awoke from their afternoon naps to learn that they now had a serious chance of gold… Great Britain’s 18-year-old world junior champion Filip Nowacki secured his first senior international championship medal in the men’s 200m breaststroke – and it was golden as he overtook Dutch world short course record holder Caspar Corbeau over the final 25 metres. Czechia’s Barbora Seemanova successfully defended her women’s 200m freestyle title in a Championship record of 1:54.38 despite being under heavy pressure all the way down the final 50 metres from Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands, who brought her medal total so far to two gold and two silver. Belgium’s 21-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk equalled the Championship record as she clocked 55.89 in the women’s 100m butterfly semi-finals. If anyone had doubts about whether Curtis could follow up her unexpected semi-final time of 26.63 on the big night they were disabused by her irresistible performance as she powered clear of a world class field to add to a medal collection already adorned with seven from last December’s EA Short Course Championships in Lublin. France’s Mary-Ambre Moluh claimed silver in 27.06 – 0.01 inside the European record Curtis set in June – and Great Britain’s Lauren Cox beat Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands to bronze, 27.15 to 27.16. After her semi-final race Curtis told European Aquatics: “I can tell that I am super woman right now. It’s unbelievable.” She still is – and it is entirely believable. Tonight she commented: “I went to bed a bit later than usual, it was like 1am, I was just watching my race over and over every minute of every hour and I was watching all of my Instagram stories and messaging my friends and mum. “But at one point I had to say, ‘no I must go to bed!’ “I was like, ‘no, the job isn’t finished yet, I want to make sure tomorrow I’m going to win this event as it’s probably the best race I have in my body right now. I wanted to win and make another world record tonight and I’ve done it and it’s amazing.” Grousset, whose preparations for these European Aquatics Championships were undermined when he broke a bone in his foot early in June, once again found the way to beat his Swiss rival Noe Ponti, as he did to win world 50m and 100m butterfly titles in Singapore. But on this occasion both were overtaken by the concentrated power of the 26-year-old from Budapest, who now has nine European golds. Ponti had qualified fastest for the final the day before in 50.21 – a man on a mission after his chances in the previous night’s men’s 50m butterfly final had disappeared when his goggles became dislodged. Tonight he finished with bronze in 49.93, with Grousset taking silver in 49.70. That the Frenchman could get so close to his best despite the fact that he had been unable to work on his kick properly for so long in the run-up to these Championships was hugely to his credit. And it may have owed a little bit too to the massive support he received from a full house crowd which chanted his name beforehand and acknowledged him afterwards with just as much warmth and fervour. Milak, not widely given to sharing his thoughts, had observed to European Aquatics the day before that he felt “on the right track” having taken 0.60 off his 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle bests. He was not wrong. And his extaordinary concluding performance only underlined the correctness of that assessment. Steenbergen, Seemanova and Great Britain’s Freya Colbert turning for home together in the women’s 200m freestyle final, but it was the first two who moved clear and level, striving stroke-for-stroke for home, with the defending champion just touching ahead and the Dutch athlete taking silver in 1:54.65, with bronze going to Colbert in 1:55.81. Nowacki, who won European and world junior doubles in the 100m and 200m breaststroke last year, and who made history last month for Jersey in winning their first Commonwealth swimming gold thanks to victory in the longer event, knew he had the best finishing speed. But he needed to bring that completely to bear over the final 50 metres before touching home first in 2:07.70, with Corbeau, who became the first swimmer to break two minutes for the short course 200m breaststroke with his 1:59.52 time in Toronto last year, earning silver in 2:07.78. Bronze went to Austria’s triple European Aquatics U23 champion Luka Mladenovic in 2:08.91. Romania’s David Popovici qualified fastest into tomorrow night’s men’s 200m freestyle final in 1:44.56 from Germany’s world and Olympic 400m freestyle
Paris 2026: Popovici and Quadarella complete European Aquatics Championship doubles as Marchand reaches new level
On a night when French icon Leon Marchand raised home hopes sky high by qualifying fastest into tomorrow night’s men’s 200m butterfly final, Romania’s 21-year-old David Popovici secured his third consecutive European 100m/200m freestyle double as he dominated the longer distance final in which he holds Olympic and world titles. Popovici was not the only athlete on the night completing a European double as Italy’s Simona Quadarella, already women’s 800m freestyle champion, added the women’s 1500m title in a Championship record of 15:46.22 to secure her tenth individual European gold. Germany’s Isabel Gose and Maya Werner took respective silver and bronze in 15:49.31 and 15:52.50. Belgium’s 21-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk retained the women’s 100m butterfly title she won two years ago in Belgrade. Gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke final went to NAB’s world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova in a Championship record of 2:19.32, with Great Britain’s women’s 100m breaststroke champion Angharad Evans taking silver. Miroslav Knedla earned Czechia’s second gold at these Championships as he won the men’s 50m backstroke in 24.11 from NAB athletes Kliment Kolesnikov and Pavel Samusenko on 24.12 and 24.24 respectively. For all the urging of the home crowd, France’s world 100m backstroke bronze medallist was last in 24.65. Marrit Steenbergen’s medal collection here now comprises two golds and three silvers – her super-swift final leg split of 50.74 was not quite enough to catch the NAB’s anchor leg swimmer Kira Manokhina, who clocked 53.02 to bring her team gold in a Championship record of 3:19.95. The Dutch took second place in 3:20.09, with bronze going to Italy in 3:20.80, for whom Sara Curtis swam the third leg, adding a second bronze to a medal collection that already comprised bronze, silver and gold. Marchand, who is competing here nursing a hip adductor injury, won his first European medal in helping France finish second in the men’s 4x200m freestyle, But the 24-year-old four-times Paris 2024 champion now appears to have realistic prospects of making his first individual European medal a golden one. Having qualified fourth fastest into tonight’s men’s 200m butterfly semi-finals in 1:55.90, took his performance to another level as he clocked 1:53.95, providing the adoring crowd who had chanted his name with a clear margin of victory over Hungary’s Richard Marton in 1:54.47, from Hungary’s 200m backstroke champion Hubert Kos on 1:55.13. Popovici displayed his almost leisurely power in the men’s 200m freestyle, which he led from start to finish, clocking 1:44.15, although he came under some late pressure from lane one in the form of Lithuania’s Tomas Navikonas, who finished fast to take silver in 1:44.55. Great Britain’s James Guy earned bronze in 1:44.87, one place ahead of Austria’s 18-year-old Christian Giefing on 1:45.14. “I’m very happy to be, I think, the first swimmer in history to win the European 100/200m free three times so I’m really happy for that,” Popovici told European Aquatics. “Maybe I wish I’d gone a little faster, but I’m happy. “It’s a thing I’ve had since I was a little kid, always trying to strive for better and more. I’ve swum enough for glory and objectives so now I just swim for the sake of excellence. “The world records in the 100m and 200m I think I will get to sooner or later, but until then celebrate and then get back to work even stronger and smarter.” After equalling the women’s 100m butterfly Championship record of 55.89 in her semi-final Vanotterdijk was favourite for gold and she led throughout, never looking likely to do anything other than win. Silver went to Germany’s 2024 world champion Angelina Kohler in 56.39, with NAB’s Daria Klepikova taking bronze in 56.76. “Maybe the first reaction was ‘I know I can go faster’ but I’ve had a bit of stomach pain the day before so it wasn’t ideal,” Vanotterdijk said. “But I made the best of it and I’m still really happy with what I did and I’m a European champion so I can be very happy with this. “The last two seasons have given me a lot of confidence and maybe people look at me but I don’t like think about it as I’m still doing it for myself and giving my best for the performance. I’m just very happy I can keep doing this.” Knedla told European Aquatics: “It was so unexpected I really didn’t think I’d be able to win! I came here with maybe expectations to make the final, maybe win a medal, but that was probably the goal and now here I am. “History repeats, in Lublin, last December I was second by one, one hundredth and now it went in my favour. I’m so proud to have won against my idol, Kliment (Kolesnikov), he’s incredible and five years back I was asking ‘how does he swim like that’ and now I’m so happy to be here and this is a reward for working so hard everyday.” Evans made a bold start in the women’s 200m breaststroke final, reaching the halfway point in the lead and 0.7 inside world record pace. She retained that position until the final 50 metres, where Chikunova turned on the power to move clear, eventually eclipsing the mark of 2:19.84 set by Denmark’s Rikke Pedersen in 2014. The Briton, who won two Commonwealth titles for Scotland last month, nevertheless finished strongly to place second in 2:21.21, with bronze going to Ireland’s 100m breaststroke silver medallist Mona McSharry in 2:22.43. “It means the whole world,” Chikunova said. “I’m just so happy with the competition record as I saw this competition record set by Pedersen (Rikke Moller Pedersen) and that was inspiration for me and this is why the gold medal is the best thing for me in many years. “Why am I crying? Because this was a really hard race mentally because I saw how Evans and I were going together and the last 50m was so hard and I had to push much stronger, but I could do this and did this and