Great Britain claimed three medals on the opening day of the European Aquatics Championships in Paris on 10 August 2026, headlined by gold in both the men's and women's 4x200m freestyle relays. Max Litchfield added a bronze in the men's 400m individual medley, giving the team a strong start to the meet.
In the men's relay final, James Guy, Duncan Scott, Matthew Richards and Belfast swimmer Jack McMillan touched first in 7:01.52, edging out France, who finished second in 7:02.23, with Germany taking bronze in 7:02.28. According to Olympics.com, this was Britain's first title in the event since their 2018 win in Glasgow.
Who made up the winning relay teams?
The men's quartet of Guy, McMillan, Richards and Scott was confirmed by Le Monde, which also reported that Britain's women secured gold on the same day. In the women's final, Freya Anderson, Leah Schlosshan, Abbie Wood and Freya Colbert finished first in a time of 7:45.93, ahead of Hungary in 7:49.09 and Neutral Athletes B, who took bronze in 7:49.13.
France's Léon Marchand, who swam in the French men's relay that finished second, reflected on the result afterwards.
“It’s my first European medal and a team one as well, so it’s cool, I’m happy.”
How did the individual medley final unfold?
Litchfield had to settle for third place in the men's 400m individual medley, crossing the line in 4:11.58. Russia's Ilia Borodin won gold with a championship record of 4:08.17, while Italy's Alberto Razzetti claimed silver in 4:10.40.
Britain went into the championships with high expectations in the men's 4x200m freestyle, having been previewed by SwimSwam as the benchmark team in the discipline heading into Paris.
The relay quartet's success in Paris echoes their earlier rivalry-turned-camaraderie, as detailed in our coverage of the Commonwealth Games 200m freestyle showdown, where the same Singapore-era relay champions faced one another individually while remaining close teammates.
What happened in the breaststroke semi-finals?
Jack Kelly broke the Irish 100m breaststroke record twice on 10 August 2026 to book his place in Tuesday's final. The New York-born swimmer, who qualifies for Ireland through his mother, first lowered the record previously held by Darragh Greene during the morning heats with a time of 59.27, before going faster still in the semi-final to finish in 58.90.
Kelly placed second in his semi-final behind Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi, the 2024 Olympic champion, who won in 58.67. Speaking after the race, Kelly said:
"To go under 59 has always been a dream of mine and to actually see it on the board is just like 'wow."
He added:
"It's been an awesome start to the meet and I'm excited to see what I what I do next."
Kelly also praised the atmosphere and his teammates:
"It was exciting, the energy was there and to feed off it was what I did, it's been a really cool environment. I can hear the guys, they've been very supportive, we're very close and I couldn't wish for better teammates; the environment is great and something that is really cool to be part of."
Looking ahead to the final, he said:
"Tomorrow I'm going to take it out and go full throttle, that's my thing in the 100 and see what I got."
In the other semi-final, Britain's Adam Ramsay-Peaty, the Paris 2024 silver medallist, won in 58.94, while teammate Filip Nowacki finished second in 59.03, setting a new 100m breaststroke record for a Jersey-born swimmer. The men's 100m breaststroke final is scheduled for Tuesday at 17:48 BST.
Elsewhere, Belfast swimmer Lottie Cullen, representing Ireland, produced a personal best in the women's 200m backstroke but narrowly missed out on a final place, finishing sixth in her semi-final with a time of 2:12.22.
What happens next at the championships?
The opening day's finals, including both 4x200m freestyle relay golds for Britain, were completed as part of the first medal session of the championships, according to Le Monde. No further scheduled races for the relay squads have yet been confirmed in the reporting reviewed so far.
Britain's strong start in Paris follows a similarly successful run at other recent events; the team also picked up further gold medals in synchronised diving and artistic swimming, as covered in our report on Britain's additional European Aquatics Championships golds.
Key Facts
- Britain's men's 4x200m freestyle relay team of Guy, McMillan, Richards and Scott won gold in 7:01.52, their first title in the event since 2018.
- Britain's women's 4x200m freestyle relay team of Anderson, Schlosshan, Wood and Colbert won gold in 7:45.93.
- Max Litchfield took bronze in the men's 400m individual medley in 4:11.58.
- Jack Kelly broke the Irish 100m breaststroke record twice, finishing in 58.90 to reach Tuesday's final.
- The men's 100m breaststroke final is set for Tuesday at 17:48 BST.
