Wellbrock's Winning Wave Rolls On: Euro 10km Gold Back In The Seine
German ace Florian Wellbrock, who claimed a record four open water world titles in Singapore a year ago, picked up where he left off, with European gold in a 'mental masterclass' 10km today in Paris. Ginevra Taddeuci, of Italy, claims women's 10km gold
As Open water got underway in Paris at the European Championships today, Florian Wellbrock picked up where her left off in Singapore last year, when he claimed a record four World titles.
He opened his Euros 2026 campaign back in the River Seine with gold in the 10km ahead of two men, one a Germany teammate, who made the Paris Olympics podium without him two years ago: Hungary's David Betlehem, third at Paris 2024, took silver, and Germany's Oliver Klemet, second at Paris 2024, took bronze this time around in Paris.
Two years ago in the same river but on a different day, weather, course and flow-wise, defending champion from Tokyo2020ne, Wellbrock was among contenders until the last loop, where he fell back badly and was left flailing in the wash to finish eighth more than a minute behind winner Kristóf Rasovszky, of Hungary.
Rasovszky finished 23rd today, almost three minutes behind Wellbrock, who claimed gold 2.14sec aheads of Betlehem, Klemet, of SG Frakfurt and Wellbrock's occasional training partner at the Magdeburg Performance Centre where Berndt Berkhahn is the head coach.
There were also excellent swims today from Italian ace Gregorio Paltrinieri, a man with one Olympic and three World 1500m free titles in his pantheon atop 61 international distance-freestyle honours for his country, 32 of them golden; his teammate Marcello Guido; and Great Britain's Hector Pardoe, sixth within 25sec of gold.
Wellbrock was locked in a thrilling duel with Betlehem right down to the final few metres of the 10km battle in conditions significantly better than those seen at Paris 2024.
Victory in Paris today took to 15 the number of international titles Wellbrock has in a pantheon of 28 podiums that include Olympic gold and three World titles (2019, 2022, 2026) in the 10km event.
In the past, Wellbrock has balanced open water and pool programs at many major events, but this year, there'll be no action in the pool for him when racing gets underway next Monday.
At Paris 2024, his 8th place in the marathon followed disappointment in the pool: he was eliminated in heats of the 800m and 1500m.
After a difficult season marked by several breaks due to illness, Wellbrock, 28, spoke of a more realistic approach. In Paris, he is also competing in the 5km race, the knockout sprint, and the relay, as is Klemet. As it was at world level before Wellbrock's quad last year, no swimmer has ever won four European golds at one summer European Championships in Open Water before.
'A Mental MasterClass'
After an uncharacteristic dip in performance during the spring, Wellbrock had downplayed expectations leading up to Paris. There'd been several bouts of illness along the way. Much training had been missed, and the 28-year-old had held little hope of returning to the form that delivered history in Singapore last year.
His retour to the Seine made clear that the forced rest had been just what Wellbrock needed in between the good training he had managed.
Wellbrock led from go in pool-like 26C waters, and dictated the pace all the way to gold. There were just a few brief moments in the race of almost two hours when Bethlehem and Klemet reached ahead of him, on the penultimate of the eight laps.
It was though he'd taken a breather and given them the kind of hope that led them to the Olympic podium ahead of him in 2024. Not this time. After striking back on the last lap, Wellbrock, speaking through the DSV, said:
"Purely in physical terms, I shouldn't have won today. After a difficult season, this was a mental masterclass—which is why I’m so emotional right now. After five or six laps, I noticed my muscles starting to struggle. That’s exactly the point where things usually start to go downhill for me in training, too. Letting David and Olli pass for a while to save energy for the last 500 or 600 meters was a very, very smart move. It was also important to break away from the pack, because that effectively guaranteed a medal. It makes it easier to take more risks then; you have to fight hard in the closing stages, and I managed to do that today."
Oliver Klemet's Euro Podium Debut
For Klemet, 24, bronze marked his first European Championship medal. He said:
"It was a good start to the European Championships—my best result of the season. The season got off to a difficult start after I broke my arm, but my recent training times suggested I could win a medal here. I managed to do that in the very first race, so I’m pleased," said Klemet. And who knows—perhaps more silverware will follow tomorrow in the 5km race."
Taddeucci Triumphs In Women 's 10km
Ginevra Taddeuci, the top European in open water events last year, claims the 10km gold for Italy by 10sec in a confident performance in the Seine today.
The podium was completed by Hungarian Viktoria Mihalyvari Farkas four second ahead of the second Italian onto the podium, Linda Caponi:
