The French team won a thrilling race over the United States in the mixed 4x1500m relay, featuring the best 17 and over athletes from each team.

France won the gold by two tenths over the Americans with the team of Clemence Coccordano, Valentine Leclercq, Emile Vincent and Sacha Velly touching at 1:11:45.70 for the nation’s second gold of the championships after Velly won the 10k on Thursday.

The team fought for every meter with the Americans as they claimed silver at 1:11:45.90 with the team of Claire Stuhlmacher, Ryan Erisman, Claire Weinstein, and Luke Ellis.

Spain was also in the mix at the end with the team of Noa Martin, Clara Martinez de Salinas Pena, Mateo Garcia Castro and Cristobal Vargas Trujillo winning bronze at 1:11:46.00

The United States made an interesting tactic by putting Erisman in the second leg, giving two-time champ Weinstein a lot of clean water at the start of the back half. Weinstein, the champion from the 7.5km and the 3k knockout earlier this week, could hold her own against France’s Vincent, who breached the gap, but Weinstein fought back.

Weinstein, who finished eighth in the 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics this year, stayed close with Vincent to give anchor Ellis a chance on Velly on the anchor.

Velly did not have it easy on the anchor leg as he had Spain’s Vargas Trujillo and United States’s Ellis on his feet throughout as they refused to go away. Ellis seemed out of it with 300 meters to go but the 17-year-old who trains at the same club as Weinstein at the Sandpipers of Nevada in Las Vegas, pulled even with Spain and France.

Velly was in between both anchor swimmers as they found their lines into the wall, and showed off his experience at age 19 by getting the final touch to give France the gold medal, putting in a final spurt to touch first.

“I feel good. It was a good race, I am very happy,” Velly said. “In the last few meters, I pushed and pushed and I touched first.”

The United States won its sixth medal of the championships, the most by any nation this week in Alghero as they were awarded the top team trophy on the final day of competition.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” Luke Ellis said. “This, I think, is the start of USA’s open water dominance so I can’t wait to see what we have coming for everyone else.”

“I’m really excited,” Stuhlmacher said. “I knew we could pull it off and everybody raced super hard so it was fun.”

Spain nearly pulled the upset thanks to its two girls on the front as Martin and Martinez de Salinas Pena put some space between themselves and France early to give their boys a fighting chance on the end. This was Spain’s second medal of the championships, adding to Martinez de Salinas Pena’s silver in the 7.5k on Friday.

Italy finished off the podium in fourth at 1:12:25.50 ahead of Hungary (1:12:36.90).

The Hungarian junior team dominated the 14-16 mixed relay by 30 seconds over Germany. The team of Napsugar Nagy, Anna Bartalos, Marton Huszti, and Mate Karpati won Hungary’s first gold of the championships and their fourth overall at 1:13:23.40.

“We are really happy, the whole team is really happy,” Karpati said. “After the European Championships, we expected a medal, but it is a gold medal so we are happy.”

“I’m so proud of myself and my teammates,” Nagy said.

The Hungarians led off with their two female swimmers and stayed close with the likes of the United States and Brazil, who led off with their two males. Bartalos had a big leg on the second lap, leading the rest of the European nations that led off with two girls, giving their boys room out in front.

The United States had a big lead on the front half, but Huszti was able to breach the lead on the third lap of the course, giving anchor Karpati clean water on the final 1500 meters.

Germany won the silver at 1:13:54.30 with the team of Sydney Ferch, Laura Blumenthal Haz, Moritz Erkmann, and Jonas Lieschke.

“I’m so happy and incredibly proud of this team,” Ferch said.

“I’m very happy to win the silver medal and it was a good race and we did it well,” Lieschke said.

Lieschke, the 5k champion from Thursday, did not have enough room to run down Karpati on the anchor leg as he was 32 seconds back from Hungary when he dove in and didn’t have enough space to catch the Hungarians.

The host nation Italy won bronze at 1:14:40.80 with the team of Ginevra Bagaglini, Mahila Spennato, Gabriele Aloisi and Gaetano Tammaro as they ran down the Americans on the last lap to claim bronze by 39 seconds.

Grazie Alghero. Grazie Volontari.

Parting Shot from Alghero