Two Thumbs Up From Wellbrock; Two Targets To Go For Match Of Singapore Quad

German ace Florian Wellbrock adds a second gold on day 2 in open water at the Paris 2026 Europeans, 5km triumph mirroring his course to four golds at Worlds in Singapore last year. It's silver for David Betlehem (HUN) bronze for Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA)

by Craig Lord

published August 05, 2026

The Eiffel Tower watching over proceedings, Germany's Florian Wellbrock added a second gold in as many days to his growing Open Water pantheon with victory in the 5km 24 hours after 10km triumph in the Seine at the heart of Paris today.

The tactics were practically the same in both races: out hard and lead form the front, let the others feel like they had a chance not too far out from the finish, and then defeat them all with a punishing homeward spirit that gave him the winning edge top confit the 28-year-old as the world's premier swimmer in natural water far from the confines of four walls and a tank.

If anything, today's win felt even more solid than his opening 10km effort yesterday. Wellbrock never wavered on his way to the stopping the clock in confident fashion on 55mins 40.2, 2.4sec ahead of Olympic marathon bronze medallist from Hungary, Dávid Bethlehem (55:42.6) and the man who's vault is even heftier than Wellbrock's, 2016 Olympic 1500m champion turned open-water ace Gregorio Paltrinieri, of Italy, 14.5sec back from gold in 55:54.7:

Wellbrock is only the fourth swimmer to achieve the gold double, after Thomas Lurz (GER) - 2006 - Kiril Abrosimov (RUS) 2012 - and Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) in 2021 at the Covid-delayed championships.

Wellbrock, who claimed a record four golds at Singapore 2025 Worlds, is on course to match that success: He'll race for a third crown on in the 3km knockout sprint on Friday, before taking on the team event with Team Germany mates on Saturday.

Wellbrock was all smiles as he hauled himself out of the river that runs through the French capital. On the pontoon, there was no sign of the challenging season that led to the past 48 hours of reasons to be cheerful:

He's aid after the 10km: "The more distance I put between myself and the past, the clearer it becomes why things turned out the way they did."

The distance grows and grows - as does ...

Wellbrock's Podium Pantheon:

A few things to highlight:

10 km - his signature event — gold at every major event he's entered since 2019: Olympic gold in Tokyo; Worlds in Gwangju, Fukuoka & Singapore... and now Paris 2026 Europeans)
Singapore 2025 Worlds was most-decorated single meet (the number of events are at their highest at Worlds and Europeans): 4 golds (5 km, 10 km, 3 km knockout sprints, team).
His 1500 m freestyle range shows up across every level of competition — pool and open water alike — including his very first European gold back in 2018 in Glasgow.

Back to back 10-5km golds suggest that Wellbrock's challenges were a blessing in disguise, perhaps. The barriers he's faced through illness and injury simply "makes it all the more spectacular that I’ve won gold twice," he said today.

The year started out with a World Cup victory but after that, things took a turn for the worse, and as he reflected on it, he recalled: "At times, I had to train with the women because I was simply too slow for the men."

The Cup finished with the name Wellbrock in an unusual position: a 1 and a 0 - for 10th. This week, he's made it 1 and 1 in two races to take his career tally of titles for Germany in international waters to 16.

"I didn't expect anything here and have come away with a second gold medal. It’s incredible," said 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."

Beyond the medallists, Sacha Velly (FRA) had a fine race but could not cope with the finishing pace, while Olympic marathon champion in this same stretch of the Seine two years ago, Kristóf Rasovszky (HUN) fell out of contentionafter a botched turn at a buoy during the final lap.

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."