European Swimming Championships in Paris: German relay team wins bronze

Germany's men's 4x200m freestyle relay team secured a bronze medal at the European Swimming Championships in Paris, setting a new national record in the process. Olympic champion Lukas Märtens was part of the quartet that achieved a time of 7:02.28 minutes.

Märtens, swimming the opening leg, handed over in seventh place. Jarno Bäschnitt then propelled the team to second place before Cornelius Jahn, who was initially a backstroke specialist and joined the team as a substitute, anchored the race to secure the bronze medal.

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I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved.

"In two years, we have the Olympic Games again – hopefully in the same constellation – and then we will build on this," Märtens commented after the race, expressing pride in the team's achievement and looking ahead to future competitions.

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In two years, we have the Olympic Games again – hopefully in the same constellation – and then we will build on this.

On the women's side, the 4x200m freestyle team narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in fourth place. Despite setting a new German record of 7:49.14 minutes, the final swimmer, Nicole Maier, was edged out in the final meters.

"It was a hundredth of a second, that's tough," said Nina Holt, who had handed over to Maier in second place. The women's team's performance, while record-breaking, ultimately fell just short of securing a podium finish.

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It was a hundredth of a second, that's tough.