A backstroke ace flipped over, Hubert Kós would end up 6th 0.76sec from the podium but the two teammates he set the pace would end up king and prince on the podium: gold to Olympic champion and Kós' Texas teammate Léon Marchand in a league-apart 1:51.72, silver to Richard Marton, the bronze to Greece's Apostolos Siskos:

The 1:51.10 championship record of Kristóf Milák from 2020 stayed in place, as did the record for the biggest winning margin in the event, historically: Milák's 3.18sec defeat of Federico Burdisso in that same 2020 race.

Marchand's victory drew France level with Germany as second most successful nation in the 200m butterfly since the event was introduced ins 1954: 5 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze for 8 medals in all, the top of the all-time table led by Hungary with ... 9 gold, 4 of which belong to Milak.

The Race:

It was Marchand's debut in the the 200m butterfly at the European showcase. The 24-year-old's 1:51.72 is the fastest time in the world this year.

The only prize missing from his collection of multiple world and Olympic titles was a European solo-event medal. He claimed silver with teammates in the 4x200m free won by Great Britain last Monday. Said Marchand of his performance:

"I swam a great race, finished the last 50 metres really well, and I'm the European champion, so I'm super happy. It's awesome."

The History File below ...