After gold comes bronze: Taddeucci continues his strong run in Paris

Following the controversy surrounding the water quality in the Seine, the European Championship medals in the open water knockout event were awarded on Friday. While Italy's star swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri narrowly missed out on a medal, the Azzurre fared better.

August 07, 2026

From: cst

Ginevra Taddeucci won the bronze medal in the knockout sprint at the European Swimming Championships in Paris. The Italian swimmer was only beaten by Bettina Fabian (HUN) and European champion Isabel Gose (GER). Gose had already won the gold medal in the 5-kilometer event.

In the men's competition, Gregorio Paltrinieri narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth. The Italian had to concede victory in the final to Hungary's David Betlehem (gold) and the French duo of Marc-Antoine Olivier (silver) and Logan Fontaine (bronze).

European champion Gose: "No oil in her mouth"

Before the race, there had been renewed concerns about water quality. The previous day's practice session had been cancelled after oil or fuel was spotted in the river. However, the latest measurements showed no exceedances of legal limits. Following an additional visual inspection on Friday morning, the races were given the green light.

The water quality in the Seine was a focus – but it did not exceed any limits. © APA/afp / JULIEN DE ROSA

German gold medalist Gose said she couldn't taste the oil. "I swallowed quite a lot of water today," she said, adding with regard to her health: "Think positive and then nothing will happen."

Keywords Watersports swimming em Paris Geneva Taddeucci