{"id":650257,"date":"2026-08-12T09:21:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=650257"},"modified":"2026-08-12T10:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:32:55","slug":"european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/","title":{"rendered":"European Championships, Day Three Finals: Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m &#038; David Popovici Among Finalists"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.omegatiming.com\/2026\/european-aquatics-swimming-championships--live-results\">Results<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/eurovision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch the European Championships Live (And Free!)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-marrit-steenbergen-stamps-100-free-cr-maxime-grousset-rattles-french-fly-mark\/\">Day 1 prelims report<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-three-crowns-to-be-decided-in-day-one-finals\/\">Day 1 finals report<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-two-prelims-nathan-muratory-blazes-200-back-wjr-as-ndoye-brouard-eliminated-sprint-queen-sjostrom-back-in-familiar-territory\/\">Day 2 prelims report<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-two-finals-continental-glory-beckons-in-paris\/\">Day 2 finals report<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-prelims-kristof-milak-starts-quest-for-fourth-straight-100-fly-title\/\">Day 3 prelims report\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong> is seeking her sixth 50 fly title a year after becoming a first-time mum at the European Championships in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>The Swede already has five golds in her collection in European waters and can return to the top of the podium at the first attempt, 12 months after the arrival of son Adrian.<\/p>\n<p><strong>David Popovici<\/strong> is seeking his third straight title and <strong>Angharad Evans<\/strong> her first European podium.<\/p>\n<p>Popovici won the 100\/200 free double at the 2022 and 2024 editions and he goes in the shorter race at the Olympic Aquatic Centre tonight.<\/p>\n<p>The Olympic champion blasted a 46.72 scorcher in the semis on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Evans set a 1:04.97 championship record in the 100 breast semis as she seeks to make her maiden trip to the European long-course podium a fortnight after completing the double at the Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n<h3>Men\u2019s 200m Backstroke<\/h3>\n<p>Hubert K\u00f3s was just 0.38 off Aaron Peirsol\u2019s world record in semis when he went 1:52.30.<\/p>\n<p>The Hungarian fell shy of the super-suited standard that has stood for 17 years since the 2009 World Championships and such was the intensity of his effort that he was nauseous following the race and forced to sit and recover.<\/p>\n<p>He returned on Wednesday to turn his attention to clinching his first European backstroke medal.<\/p>\n<p>The Olympic champion was the model of stability and had more than a body-length lead at halfway.<\/p>\n<p>He extended his lead down the third 50 and although the field ate into the deficit in the final 25, K\u00f3s was never threatened as he added the European crown to his Olympic and world titles in 1:53.08.<\/p>\n<p>Apostolos Siskos of Greece was second in 1:53.81 with Thomas Ceccon third in 1:53.96.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"650274\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/men-2-back-final-paris\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris.png\" data-orig-size=\"788,361\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"men 2 back final paris\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris-700x361.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris.png\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-650274\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris-450x206.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"278\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris-450x206.png 450w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris-280x128.png 280w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris-300x137.png 300w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris-533x244.png 533w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/men-2-back-final-paris.png 788w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Women\u2019s 50 Fly<\/h3>\n<p>Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m began her golden odyssey in the one-length fly at Debrecen 2012 aged 18 and won the next three editions in Berlin, London and Glasgow.<\/p>\n<p>The Swede didn\u2019t compete in Budapest in\u00a0 May 2021 while still recovering from an elbow injury she sustained in February of that year before getting back atop the podium in Rome in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Sara Junevik kept the title in Swedish hands last year and she also lined up for the final.<\/p>\n<p>There was a huge ovation for Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m when she was introduced to the crowd and she rolled to the title in 25.05. Roos Vanotterdijk was second in 25.12 with Juvenik making it a Sweden 1-3 in 25.51.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"650284\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/women-5-fly-final-paris\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-5-fly-final-paris.png\" data-orig-size=\"728,302\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"women 5 fly final paris\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-5-fly-final-paris-700x302.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-5-fly-final-paris.png\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-650284 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-5-fly-final-paris-700x302.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"302\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Women\u2019s 100m Breaststroke<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Benedetta Pilato<\/strong> went out hard and reached the turn first ahead of <strong>Mona McSharry<\/strong> and <strong>Lisa Angiolini<\/strong> with <strong>Angharad Evans<\/strong> &#8211; who set a 1:04.97 CR in the semis &#8211; in fourth.<\/p>\n<p>Evans came through on the second 50, drawing on to her rivals&#8217; shoulders with her momentum taking her clear in the final\u00a0 25m. The University of Stirling swimmer came through in 1:04.87, a new championship standard and British record with Evans taking 0.09 off her own standard of 1:04.96 from the national championships in April.<\/p>\n<p>McSharry was second in 1:05.41 with Pilato third in 1:05.89 with reigning champion Eneli Jefimova 0.05 off the podium in 1:05.94.<\/p>\n<p>Evans was surprised to learn she was the first British woman to have won the title, beaming: &#8220;I didn&#8217;t even realise that. I feel like I&#8217;m not very caught up with swimming history and records. I didn&#8217;t really know in the heats that I got the record until they read it out. But that&#8217;s absolutely amazing. I hope to inspire the next generation of breaststrokers and they look at that and know that that&#8217;s just on their doorstep.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She&#8217;s only the fourth British woman in all to have won a medal in the event following <strong>Suki Brownsdon<\/strong> (silver, Split 1981), <strong>Kirsty Balfour<\/strong> (silver, Budapest 2006) and <strong>Chloe Tutton<\/strong> (bronze, London 2016).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"650286\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/women-100-brst-final-paris\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-100-brst-final-paris.png\" data-orig-size=\"749,369\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"women 100 brst final paris\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-100-brst-final-paris-700x369.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-100-brst-final-paris.png\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-650286 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/women-100-brst-final-paris-700x369.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"369\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Results Watch the European Championships Live (And Free!) Day 1 prelims report Day 1 finals report Day 2 prelims report Day 2 finals report Day 3 prelims report\u00a0 Sarah Sjostrom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7575,"featured_media":650258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122074],"tags":[121151,75881,39082,128885,524,124556,136560,51270,32196,138181],"class_list":["post-650257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-europe","tag-angharad-evans","tag-benedetta-pilato","tag-chloe-tutton","tag-david-popovici","tag-european-championships","tag-hubert-kos","tag-kirsty-balfour","tag-mona-mcsharry","tag-sarah-sjostrom","tag-suki-brownsdon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m &amp; David Popovici Among Finalists In Paris<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m is seeking her sixth 50 fly title a year after becoming a first-time mum at the European Championships in Paris.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"European Championships, Day Three Finals: Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m &amp; David Popovici Among Finalists\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m is seeking her sixth 50 fly title a year after becoming a first-time mum at the European Championships in Paris.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-12T16:21:02+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-12T17:32:55+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260811_GSca_PS20568.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-three-finals-sarah-sjostrom-david-popovici-among-finalists\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liz Byrnes - Europe Correspondent\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f55ce46c708d9bd9c8562ba7ba18dab1\"},\"headline\":\"European Championships, Day Three Finals: Sarah Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m &#038; 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