Italy completed the 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Paris with an extraordinary 43 medals – 13 gold, 15 silver and 15 bronze – the highest overall medal total of any nation. The Azzurri finished second in the official medal table only because Great Britain collected 14 golds, one more than Italy, despite winning just 26 medals overall.
Italy's 43-medal haul came across the full European Aquatics program, including swimming, diving, open water, artistic swimming and high diving.
The final day, Sunday, August 16, provided another memorable Italian victory. Simona Quadarella won the women's 400-meter freestyle in 4:01.89, completing a spectacular triple after already taking gold in the 800 and 1,500 freestyle.
It was the third consecutive European Championships in which the 27-year-old Roman completed the 400-800-1,500 triple, following Rome 2022 and Belgrade 2024. Quadarella now has 11 individual European titles.
Italy also came agonizingly close to additional golds on Sunday. Benedetta Pilato took silver in the 50 breaststroke in 29.94, just 0.01 seconds behind Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte. Thomas Ceccon earned silver in the 100 backstroke, while the men's and women's 4x100 medley relays also finished second.
But Italy's remarkable medal total was not built in the swimming pool alone.
Diving was one of the great stories of the entire Italian campaign. Italy finished first in the diving medal table with 5 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze – and Chiara Pellacani was involved in every Italian gold.
Pellacani won the individual 1-meter springboard and 3-meter springboard titles. She partnered Matteo Santoro to win the mixed synchronized 3-meter event and Elisa Pizzini for gold in the women's synchronized 3-meter. She also joined Santoro, Sarah Jodoin Di Maria and Raffaele Pelligra in the mixed team competition.
Five events, five gold medals for Pellacani – an unprecedented achievement at a single edition of the European Championships and one of the finest individual performances in European diving history.
The Italian gold rush extended across the championships. Nicolò Martinenghi won both the 50 and 100 breaststroke titles, while Quadarella supplied 3 more swimming golds. In open water, Ginevra Taddeucci continued Italy's tradition of excellence by winning European gold, while another title came from artistic swimming.
Another major Italian story was 19-year-old Sara Curtis, who became European champion in the 50 backstroke after setting a world record of 26.63 in the semifinals. Her breakthrough added another young star to a national swimming program already featuring established champions such as Quadarella, Martinenghi and Ceccon.
The numbers ultimately explain the scale of the achievement: 43 medals and 13 European titles across multiple aquatic disciplines.
Italy missed first place in the official overall medal table by only one gold, but no country won more medals.
Paris 2026 therefore demonstrated something larger than the brilliance of individual champions. From Pellacani's historic 5 diving golds and Quadarella's distance triple to Martinenghi's breaststroke double, Taddeucci's open-water success and Curtis' emergence, Italy displayed extraordinary depth.
The Azzurri left Paris not simply with another successful championship, but with confirmation that Italy possesses one of Europe's strongest and most complete aquatic sports systems.
