Adam Ramsay-Peaty finishes fifth in 100m breaststroke at European Aquatics Championships

Adam Ramsay-Peaty finished fifth in the 100m breaststroke final at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris on 11 August 2026, ending his sequence of 16 European Championship gold medals. The 31-year-old was beaten for the first time at the event after previously never losing a heat, semi-final or final there.

Ramsay-Peaty had entered the meet with a record of dominance at European level and was noted in Paris for the end of that run. He had never lost a heat, semi-final or final at the European Championships prior to this result and is listed as a 31-year-old in the coverage of the event.

Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi won the 100m breaststroke in 58.58 seconds, with Ivan Kozhakin second and Simone Cerasuolo third. Ramsay-Peaty recorded a time of 59.10 and finished 0.01secs and one place ahead of Great Britain team-mate Filip Nowacki.

The three-time Olympic champion, who is the 100m breaststroke world record holder, said "nothing makes sense" after a disappointing Commonwealth Games last month, where he won two bronze medals. Ramsay-Peaty's time of 59.10 in Paris was 0.55secs faster than at the Commonwealth Games, where he was beaten by 18-year-old Nowacki, who made history for Jersey by claiming gold in the 200m breaststroke in Glasgow.

Elsewhere at the championships, Great Britain's Katie Shanahan won the 200m backstroke by 1.49secs with a time of two minutes 06.13secs; the 22-year-old had won silver in the same race at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships in Rome. GB's Angharad Evans, 23, set a new championship record in the women's 100m breaststroke semi-final with a time of 1:04.97.