Léon Marchand won his second gold medal at the European Swimming Championships
French swimmer Léon Marchand won the 400-meter freestyle event at the European Swimming Championships in Saint-Denis, near Paris. The four-time Olympic champion completed the race in 3 minutes 43.14 seconds and claimed his second gold medal of the tournament, according to France 24.
Marchand finished 1.32 seconds ahead of Hungary’s Oliver Papai. The bronze medal went to Germany’s Lukas Mertens, who holds the world record. In the 400-meter freestyle heats, which took place earlier that same day, the Frenchman posted the fourth-fastest time. Prior to that, he had already won the 200-meter butterfly final.
The 24-year-old Marchand is competing in a reduced program at the European Championships as he continues to recover from a hip injury. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, he won gold in the 200-meter butterfly and breaststroke, as well as in the 200- and 400-meter individual medley. In addition, the French swimmer won bronze in the 4×100-meter medley relay.
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In the men’s 200-meter individual medley, in which Marchand did not compete, Hungary’s Hubert Kosh won with a time of 1 minute 54.24 seconds. This is his third gold medal of the tournament, following victories in the 200-meter backstroke and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Kosh also became the European champion in the 200-meter individual medley for the third time—he previously won this event in 2022 and 2024. The silver went to Spain’s Hugo González, and the bronze to 18-year-old Mikhail Shcherbakov, who competed under a neutral flag.
Italy’s Simona Quadarella became the women’s 400-meter freestyle champion, adding this title to her victories in the 800- and 1,500-meter events. Ukrainian swimmer Nikita Sheremet claimed his first European title by winning the men’s 50-meter freestyle.
