Kocaeli 2026 Day 5: Garrido breaks through, Kratochvil makes it five

A first European title for Spain’s Jacobo Garrido, a fifth consecutive gold medal for Czechia’s David Kratochvil accompanied by a world record, and a double gold-medal haul for Italy’s Carlotta Gilli highlighted a busy Friday session featuring 29 finals on day five of the World Para Swimming European Championships Kocaeli 2026.

Funchal, Dublin, Madeira, and Madeira again. Garrido had waited a long time for his first European title. It finally came at the Gebze Olympic Swimming Pool in a fiercely contested men’s 400m freestyle S9 final against Italy’s Simone Barlaam, who has dominated the class for nearly a decade.

“Last year at the World Championships, he [Barlaam] beat me by 0.3 and today I was hoping to beat him, and I did it by 0.3,” said Garrido alongside Barlaam as the pair congratulated each other after the race. “I’m always proud to compete against him. He almost broke the 100m freestyle world record last night.”

“We have known each other since 2018, so we’re good friends,” Barlaam added. “He won the world title in London in 2019, and we also trained together before Singapore last year. I knew it would be a race between us today and I’m really happy for him because he is a great athlete.”

Kratochvil added another chapter to what was already shaping up to be a memorable European Championships, winning the men’s 100m freestyle S11 in 55.03 and lowering his own world record, set in March, by 0.31 seconds.

“I’m really tired because it’s the fifth day and the races are very demanding. But I’m full of adrenaline now because I broke the world record. It’s amazing, I don’t believe it,” said the Czech swimmer. “I’m glad we trained so hard before these championships because now I have this record.”

Gilli was also exhausted but delighted with her Friday programme. The Italian first claimed gold in the women’s 200m individual medley SM13 before returning two and a half hours later to win the women’s 50m freestyle S13. She now has four gold medals at Kocaeli 2026, with one event still to come.

“It’s a fantastic night, incredible, and a dream that has become reality,” Gilli said. “I swim many races, in the morning and in the afternoon, so the days are very long. But this is what I love, so I’m very happy.”

Ukraine’s Artem Oliinyk joined Kratochvil on five gold medals at the championships after winning the men’s 100m freestyle S5. It was his eighth medal in Kocaeli, adding to a tally that also includes one silver and two bronze.

There were also two world records in the session, both set by Russian athletes. Kirill Aleksandrov broke the mark in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB5, while Konstantin Burmistrov set a new world record in the men’s 200m individual medley SM12, his second world record of the week.

There were further celebrations for the host nation as Defne Kurt secured her fourth gold medal in as many races at the Gebze Olympic Swimming Pool by winning the women’s 100m backstroke S10.

Turkiye’s other medal of the day came from Turgut Aslan Yaraman, who claimed silver in the men’s 50m freestyle S8 for his fourth podium finish of the week. The event was won by Ukraine’s Eduard Horodianyn, who celebrated his third title in Kocaeli.

Ukraine, Italy and the Russian Federation topped the gold-medal table on Friday with five victories each. Spain and Germany followed with three titles apiece, while the Netherlands won two golds. Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland and Turkiye also celebrated victories on day five.

The World Para Swimming European Championships conclude on Saturday with 23 finals, all of which can be watched live here.

Kocaeli 2026 - Day Five Medallists 

Women's 100m Breaststroke SB5
 Gold: Verena Schott (Germany)
 Silver: Aitana Estrada Chavez (Spain)
 Bronze: Nisanur Kocabas (Germany)

Men's 100m Breaststroke SB5
 Gold: Kirill Aleksandrov (Russia)
 Silver: Andrei Granichka (Russia)
 Bronze: Antoni Ponce Bertran (Spain)

Men's 200m Freestyle S2
 Gold: Vladimir Danilenko (Russia)
 Silver: Jacek Czech (Poland)
 Bronze: Krzysztof Lechniak (Poland)

Women's 400m Freestyle S9
 Gold: Oliwia Jablonska (Poland)
 Silver: Emma Mecic (Croatia)
 Bronze: Zsofia Konkoly (Hungary)

Men's 400m Freestyle S9
 Gold: Jacobo Garrido Brun (Spain)
 Silver: Simone Barlaam (Italy)
 Bronze: Sam de Visser (Belgium)

Women's 100m Backstroke S10
 Gold: Defne Kurt (Turkiye)
 Silver: Bianka Pap (Hungary)
 Bronze: Callie-Ann Warrington (Great Britain)

Men's 100m Backstroke S10
 Gold: Olivier van de Voort (Netherlands)
 Silver: Kasper Bjerregaard Larsen (Denmark)
 Bronze: Riccardo Menciotti (Italy)

Women's 200m Individual Medley SM13
 Gold: Carlotta Gilli (Italy)
 Silver: Roisin Ni Riain (Ireland)
 Bronze: Sofiia Mezhinskaia (Russia)

Men's 200m Individual Medley SM13
 Gold: Konstantin Burmistrov (Russia)
 Silver: Vladimir Sotnikov (Russia)
 Bronze: Thomas van Wanrooij (Netherlands)

Women's 200m Individual Medley SM14
 Gold: Valeriia Shabalina (Russia)
 Silver: Poppy Maskill (Great Britain)
 Bronze: Aaliyah Richards (Great Britain)

Men's 200m Individual Medley SM14
 Gold: Alexander Hillhouse (Denmark)
 Silver: Rodion Berdnik (Russia)
 Bronze: William Ellard (Great Britain)

Women's 50m Freestyle S8
 Gold: Letizia Milesi (Italy)
 Silver: Viktoriia Ishchiulova (Russia)
 Bronze: Xenia Francesca Palazzo (Italy)

Men's 50m Freestyle S8
 Gold: Eduard Horodianyn (Ukraine)
 Silver: Turgut Aslan Yaraman (Turkiye)
 Bronze: Dimosthenis Michalentzakis (Greece)

Women's 100m Freestyle S7
 Gold: Veronika Korzhova (Ukraine)
 Silver: Anna Bogatyreva (Russia)
 Bronze: Anna Hontar (Ukraine)

Men's 100m Freestyle S7
 Gold: Andrii Trusov (Ukraine)
 Silver: Federico Bicelli (Italy)
 Bronze: Danyil Bielyi (Ukraine)

Women's 50m Freestyle S6
 Gold: Nora Meister (Switzerland)
 Silver: Dearbhaile Brady (Ireland)
 Bronze: Emma Lancini (Italy)

Men's 50m Freestyle S6
 Gold: Antonio Fantin (Italy)
 Silver: Vladyslav Koshman (Ukraine)
 Bronze: Laurent Chardard (France)

Women's 100m Freestyle S5
 Gold: Monica Boggioni (Italy)
 Silver: Agata Koupilova (Czechia)
 Bronze: Galina Fedurina (Russia)

Men's 100m Freestyle S5
 Gold: Artem Oliinyk (Ukraine)
 Silver: Kirill Pulver (Russia)
 Bronze: Oleksandr Komarov (Ukraine)

Women's 50m Freestyle S3
 Gold: Delia Fontcuberta Cervera (Spain)
 Silver: Teresa Perales (Spain)
 Bronze: Domiziana Mecenate (Italy)

Men's 50m Freestyle S3
 Gold: Josia Tim Alexander Topf (Germany)
 Silver: Serhii Palamarchuk (Ukraine)
 Bronze: Denys Ostapchenko (Ukraine)

Women's 100m Freestyle S11
 Gold: Irene van Drimmelen (Netherlands)
 Silver: Liesette Bruinsma (Netherlands)
 Bronze: Varvara Kniazeva (Russia)

Men's 100m Freestyle S11
 Gold: David Kratochvil (Czechia)
 Silver: Rogier Dorsman (Netherlands)
 Bronze: Danylo Chufarov (Ukraine)

Men's 100m Breaststroke SB8
 Gold: Andrei Kalina (Russia)
 Silver: Daniil Smirnov (Russia)
 Bronze: Oscar Salguero Galisteo (Spain)

Women's 50m Freestyle S4
 Gold: Tanja Scholz (Germany)
 Silver: Mira Larionova (Russia)
 Bronze: Gina Boettcher (Germany)

Men's 50m Freestyle S4
 Gold: Andreas Ernhofer (Austria)
 Silver: Roman Zhdanov (Russia)
 Bronze: Dmytro Vynohradets (Ukraine)

Women's 50m Freestyle S13
 Gold: Carlotta Gilli (Italy)
 Silver: Marian Polo Lopez (Spain)
 Bronze: Emma Feliu Martin (Spain)

Men's 50m Freestyle S13
 Gold: Oleksii Virchenko (Ukraine)
 Silver: Egor Shchitkovskii (Russia)
 Bronze: Enrique Jose Alhambra Mollar (Spain)

Mixed 4x100m Medley 34pts
 Gold: Spain
 Silver: Russia
 Bronze: Italy