And... A Second Gold For Taddeuci, Too - 5km Added To 10Km Title
Ginevra Taddeucci's double makes her the fourth swimmer ever to achieve a feat that has unfolded five times before at Europeans
What Germany's Florian Wellbrock did yesterday, so did Ginevra Taddeucci: 10km gold followed by 5km gold 24 hours later in the Seine at European Championships in 1hr 2mins 31.39sec, ahead of the same opponent who claimed silver yesterday.
Viktoria Mihalyvari Farkas, of Hungary, was 2.14 adrift in the sprint for home,. while the bronzed went yesterday again the champion's teammate, though a different one today, Barbara Pozzobon a further 3.9sec off the lead pace.
Taddeucci's double makes her the fourth swimmer ever to achieve that feat at Europeans, after four previous occasions on which it happened: Britta Kamrau (GER), 2004; Sharon van Rouwendaal, twice (2018 and 2021); Leonie Beck (GER), 2024
Like Wellbrock, Taddeucci's medal haul grows by the season, her gold account now five deep, atop 16 medals in all for Italy in international waters:
Ginevra's Podium Pantheon
Highlights:
- Paris 2026 Europeans tops her career list of medal hauls, with 5km and 10km titles.
- Singapore 2025 Worlds: four silvers across 5 km, 10 km, 3 km knockout sprints, and team open water.
- She's made the medals at four different championships (2022 Rome gold, 2023 Fukuoka gold, 2022 Budapest bronze, 2024 Belgrade silver, 2025 Singapore silver).
- Her Olympic bronze in Paris 2024 (10 km) is her sole Games medal - so far...
Quotes to follow later...
- Reaction from the men';s race has now been added to the report of Wellbrock's second triumph:
In full:
Craig Lord
"I didn't expect anything here and have come away with a second gold medal. It’s incredible," said Florian Wellbrock.
"I wasn't downplaying my chances beforehand; I was just being honest. At times during the season, I had to train with the women because I was too slow for the men. I have absolutely no explanation for this leap in performance. But of course, it’s fun when it all works out at the end of the season."
On the last kilometer, Betlehem really turned up the pressure and attempted to get ahead of Wellbrock by ploughing his own furrow metres to the side of the German. Ultimately, Wellbrock had all the answers. His coach in Magdeburg, Bernd Berkhahn, speaking through the DSV, said:
"It was impressive to see how the men fought in this race. Some were looking for redemption after yesterday and were highly motivated. Everyone pushed to the limit, but Florian set such a high pace right from the start—a level no one else could match. We’ve been working together since 2014 and have always made occasional adjustments to the training. It was time for another change to get his body functioning effectively enough to achieve this kind of success. The body changes, but the peak age for endurance performance is actually higher. So, Florian can continue to be successful like this for a few more years."
Wellbrock shows the maturity of his experience in racing and his analysis, honed by mental training with his psychologist following his disappointing eighth-place finish at the 2024 Olympics:
"At the end of the day, it’s just sport. In a way, it’s a hobby. Sure, we make a living from it. But you shouldn't let it become the most important thing in your life. That’s what I’ve realized over the last two or three years. My mindset has shifted accordingly."
Asked about a potential repeat of his quad from Singapore 2025, he said:
"The thought that I might be able to repeat the four-gold-medal feat from Singapore has crossed my mind briefly. But I prefer to keep a low profile for now—focusing on recovering well and getting ready to perform again tomorrow."
