His sixth medal tied the record set by Germany's Michael Gross in 1985 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

If the Netherlands had not been disqualified and lost its first place finish in the 800 relay, the man nicknamed `Hoogie' would have the European equivalent of the record seven golds won by American Mark Spitz in the 1972 Olympics.

Runaway record breaker Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands took her 50 m freestyle race in 24.99, outside both the world and her own European pace. Therese Alshammar of Sweden was second in 25.30

Germany topped the medal table with 12 golds, followed by Russia with 11 and the Netherlands with nine.