Léon Marchand claims second gold at European swimming championships
French swimmer Léon Marchand won the 400m freestyle in Saint-Denis, near Paris, taking his second gold medal of the European championships. Several other swimmers, including Italy's Simona Quadarella and Hungary's Hubert Kos, also secured titles.
French swimming star Léon Marchand delivered a commanding victory in the 400m freestyle on Sunday in Saint-Denis, near Paris, an event he rarely competes in. Marchand finished in 3:43.14, beating Hungary's Oliver Papai by 1.32 seconds, while Germany's Lukas Martens, the world record holder in the event, took bronze.
For the 24-year-old Marchand, it was his second gold of the championships after earlier winning the 200m butterfly. He had also posted the fourth-fastest time in the 400m freestyle heats. The four-time Olympic champion is competing on a reduced schedule at these Europeans while continuing to recover from a thigh injury.
Other results
With Marchand absent from the event, Hungary's Hubert Kos won the men's 200m individual medley in 1:54.24, securing his third gold of the championships. He held off Spain's Hugo Gonzalez by two-tenths of a second, while 18-year-old Russian Mikhail Shcherbakov, competing as a neutral athlete, took bronze.
Italy's Simona Quadarella won the women's 400m freestyle just days after claiming titles in the 800m and 1,500m. After sitting in third place for much of the race, she surged in the final 100 metres to overtake Germany's Isabel Gose and Maya Werner.
Britain's Keanna Macinnes won the women's 200m butterfly, while Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte claimed gold in the 100m breaststroke and captured her third title in the 50m breaststroke. Greece's Apostolos Christou defended his 100m backstroke title, and Ukrainian teenager Nikita Sheremet won his first title, in the men's 50m freestyle.
