Fuengirola swimmer finishes eighth in 1,500m at European Aquatics Championships

María de Valdés finished eighth in the 1,500m freestyle at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Paris on Friday, bringing her competition to an end after also placing seventh in the 800m earlier in the week.

The Fuengirola swimmer was the only representative from Malaga province across the aquatic disciplines at the championships. De Valdés, an Olympic open-water swimmer at Paris 2024 and world silver medallist, opted to compete in the pool alongside several of her training partners.

She qualified for both European finals after meeting the required times in the 800m and 1,500m at the Spanish Championships, where she won all three distance events.

De Valdés initially held seventh place for around 900 metres but gradually faded before being overtaken by fellow Spanish swimmer Angela Martínez, who trains with her in Malaga under coach Xavi Casademont. Martínez finished sixth in 16:20.35, while De Valdés recorded 16:32.71.

Italy's Simona Quadarella retained her 1,500m European title in 15:46.22, setting a championship record. Germany's Isabel Gose took silver in 15:49.31 and her compatriot Maya Werner claimed bronze in 15:52.50.

De Valdés had pushed hard to qualify for the final after posting the seventh-fastest time in the heats and appeared to pay for that effort in the final.

Despite the eighth-place finish, she achieved her initial objective of reaching both finals as she continues preparations across the pool and open water, with a particular focus on the latter ahead of 2027, the year before the next Olympics.