West German Michael Gross won his sixth...

West German Michael Gross won his sixth gold medal of the European Swimming Championships at Sofia, Bulgaria, due to a disqualification in the final event of the competition.

The Soviet Union just beat the West Germans to the touch in the 4x100-meter medley relay but were disqualified for a faulty change-over.

Gross pulled the West German squad to within half a second of the Soviet team with an excellent leg of the butterfly. He then watched anxiously as compatriot Alexander Showtka tried but failed to catch Vladimir Tkachenko on the final freestyle leg.

East Germany dominated the week’s competition, winning 18 gold, 16 silver and 5 bronze medals. The Soviet Union, a traditional European rival, was a distant second, with 17 medals overall to third-place West Germany’s 16.