France's Nicolas D'Oriano has admitted that he was wary of his two nearest rivals in the final of the men's 1500m freestyle as he clinched the gold medal at the European Games.
The 18-year-old broke the Games record in a time of 15:13.31 to win the event, although the Frenchman has conceded that he had to be at his very best to see off the threat of the Russian Federation's Ernest Maksumov and Israel's Marc Hinawi.
He told reporters: "I know these two guys well. I knew the Russian, in particular, had an excellent finish over the last 50m so I knew I had to be far enough ahead so he couldn't catch me over the last 50m.
"So at about 1000m I began to push harder and without that I don't think I would have finished first. Maksumov would have beaten me I think."
France have won six gold medals at the Games.
