The country’s men’s 4x100m freestyle team was the fans’ last hope, and they met expectations. Evgeny Lagunov gave Russia a tiny lead after the first leg, which was extended to almost a second in the end.

"I don’t want to say beautiful phrase that the whole my life flashed in my mind at once, but I have exactly this feeling," Russia’s encore man Danila Izotov said. "Honestly, our victory is a big surprise for me".

"Standing here with Alain Bernard is a difficult test. When it seemed to me that he was about to catch up with me at the finishing stage, I thought that it would be better to die than to lose, because my partners wouldn’t understand my defeat," he added.

The final standing:

1. Russia E.Lagunov/A.Grechin/N.Lobintsev/D.Izotov 3 mins 12.46 secs (European Championships record) 
2. France F.Gilot/Y.Agnel/W.Meynard/A.Bernard 3:13.29
3. Sweden S.Nystrand/L.Froelander/R.Andreasson/J.Persson 3:15.07
4. Italy F.Magnini/M.Orsi/C.Galenda/L.Leonardi 3:15.18
5. Germany S.Deibler/M.Deibler/S.Herbst/P.Biedermann 3:15.97
6. Hungary D.Kozma/K.Takacs/L.Cseh/B.Makany 3:18.01
7. Belgium J.Aerents/G.Surgeloose/F.Heersbrandt/Y.Grandjean 3:18.12
8. Britain S.Burnett/L.Tancock/G.Turner/R.Davenport 3:18.31