British teenager Filip Nowacki produced a late surge to win gold in the men's 200m breaststroke final at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, stopping the clock at two minutes 7.70 seconds. The 18-year-old held off Dutch swimmer Caspar Corbeau, who took silver in 2:07.78, while Austria's Luka Mladenovic claimed bronze in 2:08.91. Fellow Briton Gregory Butler finished fifth in 2:09.45.
How does this fit into Nowacki's breakout year?
The Paris victory extends a remarkable run of form for the swimmer, who last month made history for Jersey by winning Commonwealth gold in the 200m breaststroke in Glasgow, a result that made him the island's most decorated Commonwealth Games athlete and ended a 36-year wait for a Jersey gold. He had already made waves days earlier by claiming Jersey's first Commonwealth Games medal in 36 years with silver in the 100m breaststroke, finishing behind Australia's Sam Williamson, and he went on to add a further silver in the 100m breaststroke at those Games, according to Wikipedia's athlete profile. He was also the swimmer Adam Ramsay-Peaty had to overcome in that earlier 100m breaststroke final as the veteran chased his 33rd major title.Nowacki's rise has been building for some time. He is already the world junior champion over both 100m and 200m breaststroke, having secured double gold at the 2025 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, according to a national broadcaster's report. He entered these European Championships as Great Britain's leading 200m breaststroke swimmer, per a preview from SwimSwam, and set European junior records in the 200m breaststroke at a separate meet in Slovakia, clocking 2:09.11 in the semi-final and 2:08.32 in the final, according to the same broadcaster's coverage. In April 2026 he won his first British senior title in the event at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, touching in 2:08.52, as reported by a broadcast news report. In Glasgow, he also beat former Olympic champion Zac Stubblety-Cook with a time of 2:07.87, a mark that would have earned bronze at the previous Olympic Games, the national broadcaster noted. World Aquatics' official athlete record credits him with two gold, one silver and one bronze medal across major results, according to World Aquatics.
What other medals did Britain win in the pool?
Great Britain added two further bronze medals on the day. Lauren Cox finished third in the women's 50m backstroke final, clocking 27.15 seconds, as 19-year-old Italian swimmer Sara Curtis won in a world record time of 26.56 seconds. Curtis had already broken Australian Kaylee McKeown's previous world record by 0.23 seconds with a 26.63 clocking in Wednesday's semi-final, before improving further to win the final outright a day later. France's Mary-Ambre Moluh took silver in 27.06.
Freya Colbert also claimed bronze, finishing the women's 200m freestyle final in 1:55.81. Barbora Seemanova won the race in a championship record of 1:54.38, with the Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen taking silver in 1:54.65.
Who else made headlines at the championships?
Away from the British results, French sprinter Florent Manaudou, who won 50m freestyle gold at the 2012 Olympics, announced that he would retire after competing at these European Championships. The 35-year-old, who took bronze in the men's 50m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics, told France TV:Two years later, I'm announcing the end.
Manaudou's career yielded six Olympic medals across four Games appearances, comprising one gold, three silvers and two bronzes. Britain's swimmers went on to build further success in Paris, with the men's and women's 4x200m freestyle relay teams both winning gold and Max Litchfield adding an individual medley bronze, as detailed in coverage of the relay wins on 10 August 2026.
Key Facts
- Filip Nowacki, 18, won the men's 200m breaststroke gold in 2:07.70 at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris.
- He previously won 200m breaststroke gold and 100m breaststroke silver for Jersey at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
- Lauren Cox and Freya Colbert each won bronze for Britain, in the 50m backstroke and 200m freestyle respectively.
- Italy's Sara Curtis set a world record of 26.56 seconds in winning the women's 50m backstroke.
- France's Florent Manaudou confirmed he will retire after the championships, having won six Olympic medals in his career.
