Van Almsick Misses Gold

A tired Franzi van Almsick lost the 50-meter freestyle title, but still finished the 22nd European Swimming Championships as the top medalist with five golds and one silver.

Van Almsick lost a record sixth gold medal and the women’s sprint by .04 to Linda Olofsson of Sweden in 25.76.

Denis Pankratov then paced Russia to a European record in the men’s 400 medley relay at 3 minutes 38.11 seconds with the fastest butterfly leg of 51.73 to end the 10-day competition.