Swimming: World champion Filippo Magnini defeated Olympic gold medallist Pieter van den Hoogenband to retain his 100 metres freestyle title at the European championships.
Italian Magnini trailed seventh at the halfway mark but produced his hallmark strong finish down the return length to squeeze a narrow victory in 48.79 seconds.
Sweden's Stefan Nystrand, European silver medallist in the 50 freestyle in 2004, snatched the silver in 48.91 and Dutchman Van den Hoogenband, silver medallist behind Magnini in 2004, had to settle for the bronze in 48.94.
Magnini jumped out of the pool immediately and ran round to friends in the crowd who gave him a crown for the "king" to wear.
"The time is not so good but the important thing is that I won the gold medal, as in 2004 in Madrid," Magnini said.
Kirsty Balfour secured Britain their first gold medal of the championships with a comprehensive victory in the women's 200 breaststroke, consigning local favourite Agnes Kovacs, the 2000 Olympic champion, to a bronze.
Balfour, silver medallist in the 100 breaststroke, took charge from the start and forged on to win by nearly three seconds in 2:25.66 and become the first Briton to win the European 200 breaststroke since Anita Lonsbrough in 1962.
Yuliya Pidlisna of Ukraine took the silver in 2:28.42 and Kovacs, world champion of 1998 and 2001, the bronze in 2:28.90.
Russia's Yuri Prilukov, winner of Monday's 400 freestyle, claimed his second Budapest gold when he won the men's 1,500 freestyle title for the third time in a row.
World short-course champion Prilukov took the lead from Sebastien Rouault after the 400-metre mark and stayed just clear of his French rival, with the rest left battling behind for the bronze.
The 22-year-old Russian, double medallist at the 2005 world championships, clocked a championship record 14 minutes 51.93 seconds, with Rouault taking the silver in 14:55.73 and fellow Frenchman Nicolas Rostoucher the bronze, his second after the 400, in 15:01.82.