A clever stroke unites Europe

Juliana Galan combined her passion for swimming with a project for her masters course by organising the First European Swimming Classic competition.

Ms Galan is a US student undertaking a European studies course at Sciences Po, Paris.

The event, which was hosted by the Neptune Club in northeast Paris, drew 300 swimmers from nine countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland) to compete in nearly 100 events.

Ms Galan and four fellow students spent a year organising the contest, which was also designed as an exercise in European social rapprochement .

The project fulfilled its objectives, Ms Galan said.

"Countries and clubs mixed frequently, exchanging caps and T-shirts, getting each other's e-mail addresses."