The top European swimmers just finished 4 races over a 4-day period at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships held this week in Paris.

Florian Wellbrock of Germany had an outstanding competition, winning the 5 km and 10 km, finishing 7th in the 3 km Knockout Sprints, and then anchoring Germany to a gold medal on the last day (today in Paris).

Now Wellbrock, a 17-time World Championship medalist and 2-time Olympic medalist (gold in the 2020 Tokyo 10 km race), is apparently en route halfway around the globe to compete in the 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. His next race is on Monday, August 10th at the Pan Pacs 10 km race to be held in Long Beach, California. From racing in the Seine against the best of Europe to racing in Marine Stadium against the best of the rest of the world, it will be a remarkable test of Wellbrock’s endurance. Let’s hope the 192 cm (6′-4″) Wellbrock does not have a middle seat in economy class on the 11 hour 40 minute flight from Paris to LAX.

The 6-loop 10 km course in Marine Stadium is expected to be warm (24°C) and very flat and tranquil. Nicholas Sloman of Australia, Paulo Strehlke Delgado of Mexico, and Dylan Gravley and Ivan Puskovitch of the USA are expected to push their German rival.

2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – 10 km Men’s Start List & Race Numbers

1. Euan Liney, Australia
2. Nicholas Sloman, Australia
5. Matheus Mellechi, Brazil
6. Victor Moreno, Brazil
7. Colton Chaires, Canada
8. Sebastian Paulins, Canada
9. Florian Wellbrock, Germany
10. Pasquale Angelo Giordano, Italy
11. Riku Ezawa, Japan
12. Taishin Minamide, Japan
13. Kaito Tabuchi, Japan
14. Kaito Tsujimori, Japan
15. Diego Obele Cisneros, Mexico
16. Paulo Strehlke Delgado, Mexico
17. Roberto Valdes Ochoa, Mexico
18. Connor Albertyn, South Africa
19. Byron Kimber, South Africa
20. Henre Louw, South Africa
21. Sven van der Linde, South Africa
22. Joshua Brown, USA
23. Dylan Gravley, USA
24. Ivan Puskovitch, USA
25. Joey Tepper, USA
26. Dario Verani, Italy
27. Percy Escobar Coppa, Bolivia

2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – 10 km Women’s Start List & Race Numbers

30. Jacqueline Davison-McGovern, Australia
31. Chelsea Douyere, Australia
32. Moesha Johnson, Australia
33. Tiana Kritzinger, Australia
35. Viviane Jungblut, Brazil
35. Cibelle Jungblut, Brazil
37. Emma Finlin, Canada
38. Jeannette Spiwoks, Germany
39. Stephanie Iannaccone, Guatemala
40. Airi Ebina, Japan
41. Ichika Kajimoto, Japan
42. Paulina Susej Alanis Hernandez, Mexico
43. Dalia Berenice Moreno Velasco, Mexico
44. Yuritzi Salgado Gonzalez, Mexico
45. Carla Antonopoulos, South Africa
46. Kiara Banks, South Africa
47. Sasha-Lee Hemmens, South Africa
48. Callan Lötter, South Africa
49. Mariah Denigan, USA
50. Katie Grimes, USA
51. Brinkleigh Hansen, USA
52. Becca Mann, USA
53. Ashley Twichell, USA

2026 European Aquatics Championships 4 x 1500m Mixed Team Top 3

1. Germany 1:03:39.2 with Julie Ackermann + Isabel Gose + Oliver Klemet + Florian Wellbrock
2. Italy 1:03:41.3 with Barbara Pozzobon + Ginevra Taddeucci + Marcello Guidi + Gregorio Paltrinieri
3. Hungary 1:03:42.4 with Bettina Fabian + Viktoria Mihalyvari Farkas + Kristóf Rasovszky + David Betlehem

2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 10 km – Top 3

1. Florian Wellbrock, Germany, 1:55:18.39 at 60.5 SPM
2. David Betlehem, Hungary, 1:55:20.53 at 87.6 SPM
3. Oliver Klemet, Germany, 1:55:24.84 at 66.6 SPM

2026 European Aquatics Championships 5 km ーTop ３

1. Florian Wellbrock, Germany, 55:40.25 at 63.2 SPM
2. David Betlehem, Hungary, 55:42.62 at 92.4 SPM
3. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy, 55:44.76 at 79.6 SPM

2026 European Aquatics Championships 3 km Knockout Sprints Results – Men

1. David Betlehem, Hungary, 6:12.97
2. Marc-Antoine Olivier, France, 6:16.26
3. Logan Fontaine, France, 6:16.47
4. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy, 6:17.00
5. Kristóf Rasovszky, Hungary, 6:17.08
6. Athanasios Charalampos Kynigakis, Greece, 6:18.16
7. Florian Wellbrock, Germany, 6:18.88
8. Johannes Liebmann, Germany, 6:19.80
9. Oliver Klemet, Germany, 6:20.25
10. Andrea Filadelli, Italy, 6:29.65

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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