Poland's Katarzyna Wasick unexpectedly won the gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the European Swimming Championships in Paris - and with a time of 23.84 seconds, she also set a national record - 0.11 seconds better than the one she so far held.
Sweden's reigning Olympic champion in this distance, Sarah Sjoestroem, finished second with 23.86 seconds, and Italy's Sara Curtis was third, clocking 23.99 seconds.
The 34-year-old Wasick, who trains in the USA, was the oldest competitor in the 50-meter freestyle final. After the start, the Polish swimmer emerged first and sprinted to the opposite wall in stunning style, never giving up the lead. She stunned not just the rivals, experts, and public, but herself as well - when she looked at the scoreboard, she couldn't believe what had happened.
Wasick previously won silver medals at the European Championships twice - in 2020 and 2022. She also has a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships, and two World Championships bronzes in 2024 - although the list of her achievements is much longer. In the early 2020s she was second only to the Swedish sprint superstar Sjoestroem.
Wasick's medal was the second won by team Poland in Paris. On Wednesday, Justina Kozan secured bronze in the 400-meter individual medley.
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Source: PAP, IAR