Heart‑stopping final gives Pauline Pfeif silver at Swimming Europeans
Pauline Pfeif secured the EM‑Silver in the Herzschlagfinale of the Schwimm‑EM on Monday evening in Paris, with the official Stand recorded as 03.08.2026 – 22:48 Uhr. A late mistake cost her the Goldmedaille after a tightly contested competition.
After three of five Durchgängen, the Gold was within reach, but a critical Fehler by the Turmspringerin altered the outcome. The Wettkampfes remained intense, yet the error proved decisive.
Following her third Sprung from the Turm, Pfeif seized the Führung with a Vorsprung of almost 20 Punkten, capitalising on a prior Patzer by the Britin Maisie Bond. Her strong Versuch seemed to put her on track for Gold.
Bond responded with a top Bewertung of 76.80 Punkten, applying pressure that Pfeif could not counter. The 24‑year‑old then Patzte on a 2.5‑fold backward salto, dropping sharply in the rankings and endangering her medal hopes.
In the final showdown, Pfeif edged Else Praasterink of the Netherlands by a razor‑thin margin of 0.15 Punkten to claim the silver, while Praasterink settled for Bronze. Bond, after a missed fourth Durchgang worth 21.75 points, finished outside the medals.
Two hours earlier, Massenberg and Schauer had won Gold in the mixed 3‑metre board event, opening the medal evening for the Deutscher Schwimm‑Verband (DSV). Their victory set a positive tone for the German team.
Elena Wassen, who had taken Silver from the ten‑metre platform on Saturday alongside Pfeif, struggled in the tower event, finishing tenth after several Patzer. The DSV now holds two Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals from the championships.