4x200 Gold For Colbert, Wood, Schlosshan & Anderson: A New Dawn For GBR Women
After GBR rise to the top of the event's all-time medals table, Leah Schlosshan says: "Our instruction from our coaches, was to commit and command, so it was short and simple ... We've been wanting this time for so long, and we're gonna chase that medal in LA [2028 Olympics] ..."
With a dominant go-to-gold 7mins 45.93 championship-record victory, Freya Colbert, Abbie Wood, Leah Schlosshan and Freya Anderson swept Great Britain to the head of the all-time leaderboard for the event for the first time since its introduction to the women's program, in 2002.
The British quartet raced to gold before the men's final, which was also won by Great Britain ion a championship record:
Craig Lord
In other action:
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
The men's 4x200 splits without the names grant us a glimpse of the flow and ebb and flow of fortunes:
On the bounce from the ":disappointment" of a "difficult" Commonwealth Games, Colbert set the tone with a 1:55.65 opener that gave way to a wave of 1:56s from Wood, Schlosshan and Anderson, each swimmer in turn holding the fort until Anderson held off a shoal of teams that chased her but never got closer than the last bubbles of her wash:
All of which left the all-time medals table with Great Britain on top with three golds, Hungary still the nation with most podiums:
- * - see footnote on NAB below
"To Commit and Command"
I turn to one of the two Freyas, Colbert. She's smiling. This is quite a different day to Glasgow 2026 Commonwealths, where the dominance of Dolphins only served to highlight the struggle and churn of home nations. So, a very different day? Says Freya C:
"Yeah, definitely. I mean, for all of us, we were about 5 seconds quicker, overall time, than in Glasgow. For the past few years, we've been saying a performance like that was coming, and we just all sort of needed to be on, or near, our best on the same day and in the same race. And so I think for us all to come together and really bring it on today at such an atmospheric European Championships is perfect timing.
"We're two years on for the three of us who were in Paris last time [at the Olympic Games], and I think coming off some minor disappointment in Glasgow, I think we're just all really proud of ourselves that we brought it together on the day that mattered for the team."
A fine lead-off helps build the momentum for all of you? Says Abbie Wood:
"Yeah, definitely. I think that was the tactic. Freya's a really strong 200 freestyler. She gave us the confidence and the drive to just hold on to [the lead]. And I think it's obviously really nice to try and hold a lead rather than catch up. I think we all handled the pressure really well. We saw the plan was working, and as each one of us dove in, I think the pressure built and built, and we handled it so well."
Turning to Leah, is there a difference in feeling and attitude - and if so, can she describe that difference - of being either 3 seconds behind or 3 seconds ahead in a championship relay?
"Well, our instruction before, from our coaches, was to commit and command, so it was short and simple. And I think it's nice to get their encouragement before we know what we could do. We felt really good going in."
"I think we all felt pretty relaxed as well. We've been wanting this time for so long, and we're gonna chase that medal in LA [2028 Olympics] so this is taking us that one step closer..."
So Freya A, nice to bring it home so well and confident try?
"I mean the girls did the job for me, I just had to not do anything silly and just get my hand on the wall and the first thing I said when I finished and got to see the girls was that was just so much fun. The energy, the camaraderie that we all had, like we were just swimming for each other ... it was so much more than just swimming, you know, a leg in a relay and I think that just showed.
"I think our friendship and like how much we back each other in and out the pool and genuinely just wanting the best for each other really shows in the pool and the positivity that brings to the team."
Wood raises the all important point of ownership, and the positive accountability that holds hands with it: Yeah, I think the coaches can tell us like the times we're capable until they're blue in the face, but I think when it comes from us and we're telling each other we are capable, it really goes a long way."
Back to Glasgow - what happened? Says Abbie:
"I think we all have had a strong swims through the season, and to not get the times on the board at Glasgow, like, it just put a fire in our belly and we were lucky enough to have another chance rather than waiting another year. So I think we just all like grabbed the opportunity with two hands. We were all pretty annoyed after Glasgow. I don't want to sugarcoat it, but we all knew we had such better swims than us and we showed that throughout the season. So to put it all together, it's almost a sigh of relief that we know we're capable."
So, no deliberate strategy of accepting a less in Glasgow so you could more in Paris? Freya C says:
"No, I think like the coaches and everyone always knew this was the benchmark meet. This was the more important one for us. But we were rested going into Glasgow. It wasn't like we weren't preparing for that. We didn't want it to go like it did. I just think that sometimes maybe the double bounce isn't exactly what we want.
And with it being a championships like the Commonwealth Games, which isn't a small meet, there are lots of different pressures and different things [at a multi-event Games] might have affected our performance. But we came in here really just ready to go again and make the most of this opportunity we have. Like being in Paris, the atmosphere is always so special and we have a lot of like happy memories from the Olympics two years ago - not all in the pool, but definitely out the pool in the city of Paris. This place has got magic for us and so we just have been really excited for the whole lead into this."
Wood intervenes: "Yeah, it's probably the best crowd we've had in a while. It's so much fun. You can tell all the crowd are having a great time as well."
Before the Paris final this evening, four nations were matched on gold count with two titles each since the 4x200m was introduced to the women's program at European l/c championships in 2002 (see table below).
Now, the tie is broken, and Britain has that lead as it sets its sights on global waters, Australia, the United States and China the teams to target.
W4x200 free Euro L/C Milestones & Margins
- Fastest win ever: Italy, 7:50.53, 2014
- Biggest winning margin: Germany over Spain: 6.76s, 2002
- Smallest winning margin: Hungary over France: 0.20s, 2010
- Tightest podium (gold→bronze) - Netherlands to Hungary: 1.66s, 2022
Paris 2026 marked the 13th edition of an event introduced in 2002.
- * - The Soviet Union counts represent an accumulation of honours from many nations no longer part of a bygone political union; while a new entry had to be made on the all-time medals table for Paris 2026, for neutral athletes whose achievements cannot be registered as part of their country's history because that country is not officially recognised in Paris as a result of its war of aggression on a neighbouring country in Europe. In our history file, those results will never be considered as additions to be made to the scores of USSR or RUS, past, or future.
