It was a big week for Greece at the European Aquatics Championships in London.

On Wednesday Andreas Vazaios was first to finish in the 200-metre medley final, becoming the third Greek swimmer to win gold in a European Championship.

In doing so, the 22-year-old managed to beat the national record of one minute and 58.18 seconds, with his fellow competitors left trailing by 1.5 seconds.

Vazaios’ win came a day after Apostolos Christou finished third in the 100-metre backstroke final on Tuesday, behind first-placed Frenchman Camille Lacourt and Grigory Tarasevich (RUS) in second.

The 19-year-old wasn’t the only one to be awarded the bronze medal, however; with a time of 54.19 seconds, he finished in a dead heat with Italy’s Simone Sabbioni.

Simone Sabbioni (L) of Italy and Apostolos Christou (R) of Greece pose with their bronze medals after sharing the third place in the men’s 100m Backstroke Final of the LEN European Aquatics Championships 2016 in London on Tuesday. PHOTO: AAP via EPA/PATRICK B. KRAEMER

 

The time was just short of Christou’s impressive achievement in the semi-finals, finishing with a time of 53.36 seconds.

Meanwhile, Panayiotis Samilidis of Greece managed to finish in fifth position in the 100-metre breaststroke final.

In total, Greece had 14 swimmers in its roster for this year’s championships.