Greek swimmer Dimitris Markos qualified for the 800m freestyle final at the European Swimming Championships in Paris by setting a national record on Tuesday. Markos took fifth place overall in the heats with a time of 7:47.26. He broke his previous record of 7:48.59, which he set on June 19, 2024, when winning a silver medal at the European Championships in Belgrade.
The result secured Markos a place in Wednesday's final, scheduled for 21:03. His performance also earned him the qualifying limit for the 2027 World Championships in the 800m freestyle. Earlier at the Paris competition, he set another national record while swimming the lead-off leg in the 4x200m freestyle relay, following his earlier qualification standard in the 200m.
Men's 800m freestyle heats
European record holder Johannes Liebmann of Germany posted the fastest qualifying time in the 800m freestyle heats at 7:41.87. Zalan Sarkany of Hungary finished second with a time of 7:42.34. Olympic gold medalist Daniel Wiffen of Ireland took third place with 7:44.86.
Greek swimmer Vasilis Kakoulakis also competed in the 800m freestyle heats. Kakoulakis recorded a time of 7:58.65 to finish 17th out of 35 participating athletes.
Mixed 4x100m medley relay
Greece's mixed 4x100m medley relay team advanced to Tuesday night's final at 21:06. The team comprised Apostolos Christou in backstroke, Evangelos Efraim Doumas in breaststroke, Anna Ntountounaki in butterfly, and Anna Avgousta Vlachou in freestyle. They qualified in fifth place overall with a time of 3:45.90.
Russia, competing as an independent nation, led the relay heats with a time of 3:43.02. Host nation France finished second in 3:44.27, followed by Great Britain in third with 3:45.69 and Spain in fourth with 3:45.87.
Individual backstroke and butterfly events
Apostolos Siskos advanced to the semi-finals of the men's 200m backstroke. Siskos posted a time of 1:55.64 in the heats, securing the fourth fastest overall time heading into the afternoon session.
Anna Ntountounaki qualified for the semi-finals of the women's 50m butterfly despite finishing 18th overall with a time of 26.38. She advanced in 15th spot because competition rules allow a maximum of two swimmers per country. Four Russian athletes and three Swedish athletes finished in the top 16, opening spots for Ntountounaki.
Two other Greek swimmers competed in the 50m butterfly heats but failed to advance. Georgia Damasioti finished 21st with a time of 26.49, while Anna Avgousta Vlachou placed 25th with 26.59.
Sprint freestyle and breaststroke results
Andreas Vazaios placed 30th in the men's 100m freestyle heats with a time of 48.86. In the women's 100m breaststroke heats, Nikol Pavlopoulou finished 21st overall in 1:08.82, while Mania Tasakou placed 27th with a time of 1:09.34.
Day two afternoon schedule
The afternoon schedule for day two of the championships on Tuesday included several events with Greek participation. The session opened at 19:30 with the women's 200m backstroke final, followed by the men's 50m butterfly final at 19:37, the women's 100m freestyle final at 19:42, and the men's 100m breaststroke final at 19:48.
Semi-final races began at 19:54 with the women's 100m breaststroke. Siskos swam in the men's 200m backstroke semi-finals at 20:03, while Ntountounaki competed in the women's 50m butterfly semi-finals at 20:25. The men's 100m freestyle semi-finals were set for 20:32.
The evening program concluded with two finals. Vasilaki competed in the women's 800m freestyle final at 20:53, and the Greek national team raced in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at 21:06.
