Nowacki wins European 200m breaststroke gold in Paris

British teenager Filip Nowacki secured a dramatic gold medal in the men's 200m breaststroke final at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The 18-year-old surged late to win in a time of 2 minutes 7.70 seconds, edging out Dutch swimmer Caspar Corbeau, who took silver in 2:07.78. Austria's Luka Mladenovic claimed bronze in 2:08.91, while fellow Briton Gregory Butler finished fifth. This victory adds to Nowacki's recent success, having won gold in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month.

The championships also saw a world record in the women's 50m backstroke. Italy's Sara Curtis, 19, won the event in a time of 26.56 seconds, breaking the previous record of 26.63 set by Australia's Kaylee McKeown. Curtis had already lowered the mark in the semifinals on Wednesday before improving it in the final. France's Mary-Ambre Moluh finished second, and Britain's Lauren Cox took bronze.

In other finals, Britain's Freya Colbert earned a bronze medal in the women's 200m freestyle. She finished third in 1:55.81 behind winner Barbora Seemanova of the Czech Republic, who set a championship record of 1:54.38, and the Netherlands' Marrit...