Apostolos Christou defends European 100m backstroke title in Paris, edging world record holder Ceccon by 0.01 seconds

Victory in Paris

Apostolos Christou won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the European Swimming Championships in Paris on 16 August 2026, touching the wall in 52.27 seconds. The Greek swimmer edged out Italy's Thomas Ceccon by one hundredth of a second, with Ceccon finishing in 52.28. Russia's Pavel Samusenko took bronze in 52.57. The victory came two days after Christou finished fourth in the 50m backstroke, missing a medal by one hundredth of a second, and marked his fourth European championship title in the 100m backstroke.

The race

Christou, swimming in lane three with a reaction time of 0.59 seconds, turned fourth at the 50-meter mark in 25.48 seconds, slower than his 25.18 split in the semifinals. He improved his position with a strong turn and began closing the gap on Ceccon, the world record holder in the 100m backstroke at 51.60, a time set at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest. Christou had never previously beaten Ceccon in a major competition in the 100m event. In the final meters, Christou overtook the Italian on the last stroke, touching first by the narrowest of margins. Upon seeing his name atop the scoreboard, Christou shouted "Who? Who?" in a rare outburst of emotion.

Defending the title

The gold marks Christou's second consecutive European title in the 100m backstroke, having won the same event at the 2024 European Championships in Belgrade with a time of 52.23. He has now reached the podium in the 100m backstroke at six consecutive European Championships, a streak beginning in London in 2016. His 100m backstroke European Championship record includes bronze in 2016, 2018, and 2021, silver in 2022, and gold in 2024 and 2026.

Medal ceremony and reactions

After the final, Christou climbed to the top step of the podium, received his gold medal, and stood as the Greek flag flew highest and the Greek national anthem played inside the Paris pool. Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias congratulated Christou on social media platform X.

New triumph at a European Swimming Championship for Apostolos Christou, who after the gold medal in the 100 meters backstroke in Belgrade in 2024, was once again crowned European champion in the same event in Paris. He deserves warm congratulations!

Medal tally and career

Sources differ on Christou's overall European Championship medal count. One source reports six golds and 17 total medals across a decade of competition, while others cite nine total medals in European Championships with four golds. Christou, born on 1 November 1996, swims for Greek club Olympiacos and also holds an Olympic silver medal from the 200m backstroke at the 2024 Paris Olympics. With his latest result, Greece ranks as the fourth-strongest nation in the 100m backstroke in European Championship history, with three golds, three silvers, and four bronzes.

Full final results

The complete final standings saw Christou first in 52.27, Ceccon second in 52.28, Samusenko third in 52.57, France's Yoan Ndoye-Brouard fourth in 52.71, Russia's Georgi Iakovlev fifth in 52.73, Poland's Ksawery Masiuk sixth in 52.92, France's Meun Tomak seventh in 53.47, and Great Britain's Jack Sherrie eighth in 53.65.