Gregorii Vekovishchev returned to the Munich pool the morning after double gold on Friday evening to start his defence of the 400 free on the final morning of the 2026 European Junior Championships.
The Neutral Athlete won the 800 free before anchoring the AIN men’s 4×200 free quartet to victory in a European junior record of 7:09.16.
He came back for the 400 in which won the title at Samorin 2025 ahead of Johannes Liebmann and Kuzey Tuncelli who have each made a significant impact on the senior stage.
Vekovischev was third through in 3:50.42, 0.01 behind Frencesco Volpe (3:50.41) with Christian Giefing booking lane four in 3:49.98.
Kseniia Misharina (AIN) headed the women’s prelims in 4:13.72.
The Neutral Athletes also headed up the women’s medley relay ahead of Italy and Spain with Greece taking top spot in the men’s event followed by AIN and Italy.
With just one session to go, the Neutral Athletes have an unassailable lead at the top of the medal table with 10 golds, six silvers and 10 bronzes. They’re followed by Great Britain )five golds, two silvers, four bronzes) and Italy (four golds, four silvers, four bronzes).
