It should be noted that before that, the Ukrainian sensationally found himself outside the podium at a distance of 800 meters, taking fourth place.. So the 1.5 km swim was of great importance for Romanchuk.

For the first third of the distance, the Ukrainian was second behind the Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri. In the future, Mikhail took the lead, and finally increased the advantage over his opponent. Romanchuk outstripped the silver medalist Paltrinieri by more than three seconds, and the bronze medalist Damien Joly from France by almost 15 seconds.

Interestingly, Romanchuk qualified for the 1500m final with the best time, which he only confirmed in the decisive heat.. The Ukrainian swimmer approached the competition in the status of the current European champion, who successfully defended. Romanchuk overcame the distance with time 14:36:10.

1500m swim winners:.

Mikhail Romanchuk (Ukraine) - 14:36. 10 Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy) - 14:39. 79 Damien Jolie (France) - 14:50. 86 Let us add that such a winning result allowed Romanchuk to break his own national record. In general, this is the first medal of Ukraine in swimming at the European Aquatics Championship 2022 in the capital of Italy.

There is still a qualifying 400-meter freestyle swim ahead of Mikhail, which will take place on August 17. If the Ukrainian manages to qualify, then on August 18 he will fight for awards in the final. In general, this is the eleventh award for the Ukrainian team at the tournament.. Divers won two medals, Ukraine won eight awards in artistic swimming.

The European Aquatics Championship will last until August 21.