Erika Villaecija brought Spain their first gold medal of the European short-course swimming championships when she won the women's 800 metres freestyle.
Villaecija had taken the lead from defending champion Eva Risztov of Hungary by the 200-metre mark and stretched away to win in eight minutes 18.65 seconds. Britain's Commonwealth champion Rebecca Cooke overhauled Risztov in the closing stages to take the silver in 8:22.05.
Risztov, who retained her 200 metres butterfly title yesterday, had to settle for the bronze in 8:23.94. Germany's Hannah Stockbauer, who achieved a unique distance treble in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle at the world long-course championships in Barcelona in July, was never in the hunt, finishing more than 10 seconds adrift of the winner in 8:28.93 - fifth in the race and sixth overall in an event decided on times from two heats, with no final.