Marchand storms to second gold of European championships / Photo: JULIEN DE ROSA - AFP
Marchand storms to second gold of European championships
French swimming star Leon Marchand powered to his second gold of the European championships in Paris on Sunday, easing to victory in the 400m freestyle, an event he rarely races.
Clocking 3min 43.14sec, he won by a margin of 1.32 seconds over Hungary's Oliver Papai. The bronze went to Germany's Lukas Martens, the world record holder.
Four-time Olympic champion Marchand had already won gold in the 200m butterfly final in Paris and had been the fourth-fastest qualifier in the 400m freestyle heats earlier Sunday.
Marchand was one of the stars of the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning gold in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke, as well as the 200m individual medley and the 400m medley.
He also took a bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.
The 24-year-old is racing a reduced schedule at the Europeans as he continues to recover from a thigh injury.
Earlier, Hungarian Hubert Kos won the men's 200m individual medley title in the absence of Marchand for his third gold of the championships.
Kos completed the four-length race in 1:54.24 for his third gold in Paris after the 200m backstroke and men's 100m freestyle relay.
For the 23-year-old it was also his third European gold medal in the event, following victories in 2022 and 2024.
Kos built a significant lead during the backstroke leg before seeing Spain's Hugo Gonzalez charge towards him. Kos held firm in the final metres to secure the win.
He finished two-tenths of a second ahead of Gonzalez, while 18-year-old Russian Mikhail Shcherbakov, competing under a neutral flag, took the bronze.
- Golden finale for Quadarella -
Italy's Simona Quadarella finished in style by winning the women's 400m freestyle final, just days after securing titles in the 800m and 1,500m events.
After holding third place for much of the race, Quadarella (4:01.74) surged ahead in the final 100 metres to see off Germans Isabel Gose and Maya Werner.
The 27-year-old had previously achieved a 400m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle treble at the 2018 European Championships in Rome.
She also holds three long-course world titles and an Olympic bronze medal, won in the 800m at the Tokyo Games in 2020.
Britain's Keanna Macinnes won the women's 200m butterfly as Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte claimed gold in the women's 100m breaststroke.
Macinnes was well ahead of the European record pace for much of the race, but lost ground on the final length to clock 2:05.90.
Meilutyte, the Olympic 100m breaststroke champion in 2012, won the European 50m breaststroke for the third time in a time of 29.93sec.
Defending champion Apostolos Christou of Greece retained his 100m backstroke gold medal as Ukrainian teenager Nikita Sheremet won his first title in the men's 50m freestyle on the final day of competition.
V.Agnellini--IM
