Adam Ramsay-Peaty faced a surprising setback at the European Aquatics Championships, finishing fifth in the 100m breaststroke final held in Paris. The 31-year-old, who boasts an impressive tally of 16 European Championships golds, experienced his first loss at this prestigious event, where he had previously never been defeated in heats, semi-finals, or finals.

In the final, Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi emerged victorious, clocking in at 58.58 seconds, while Ivan Kozhakin secured second place and Italy's Simone Cerasuolo took home third.

Ramsay-Peaty's finishing time of 59.10 seconds placed him just 0.01 seconds ahead of his Great Britain team-mate Filip Nowacki. The three-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the 100m breaststroke, expressed his confusion, stating that "nothing makes sense" following a disappointing performance at the Commonwealth Games, where he earned two bronze medals.

Despite the setback, Ramsay-Peaty's time in Paris was a notable improvement, being 0.55 seconds faster than his performance at the Commonwealth Games, where he was beaten by 18-year-old Nowacki, who made history for Jersey by winning gold in the 200m breaststroke in Glasgow.

In other highlights of the championships, Great Britain's Katie Shanahan dominated the 200m backstroke, winning gold by a significant margin of 1.49 seconds with a time of two minutes 06.13 seconds. The 22-year-old had previously claimed silver in the same event at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships in Rome. Additionally, GB's Angharad Evans, aged 23, set a new championship record in the women's 100m breaststroke semi-final, finishing with a time of 1:04.97.