Grousset & Manaudou A 22.87 Snap In ‘Fly Dash At French Nationals But Not In Same Race
Clichy’s Maxime Grousset and ace sprinter Florent Manaudou both clocked 22.87 in the non-Olympic 50m butterfly today on the opening day at French Elite Championships in Chartres – but they didn’t actually race each other.
Manaudou stopped the clock at 22.87 in heats, with Grousset on 22.89 in the last of 10 heats, before the Olympic 50m freestyle champion of London 2012 decided to leave it there. Grousset then clocked 22.87 to win the final.
Home-Games Trajectory For Grousset
Grousett clocked a sizzling 50.14 for the World 100m butterfly title in Fukuoka last year and is set to arrive at a home Olympics in Paris next month among the host nations podium contenders.
It was the first long-course global crown of his career, his time the fifth fastest in history. Grousset had already claimed bronze medals in the 50 ‘fly and the 100 free by the time he won the ‘fly crown, which delivered a fourth French gold to add to Leon Marchand‘s victorious march in the 200 and 400m medley, the latter inside Michael Phelps‘ 2008 World record, and the 200 ‘fly.
Grousset’s haul helped put France in fourth on the medals table and level with the USA on gold count after seven days of racing in Fukuoka, an extraordinary state of affairs relative to historic counts.
Back to Chartres finals…
In other events that do count as qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, Tunisia’s 19-year-old Ahmed Jaouadi topped a 400m freestyle tussle with tussle with Frenchman David Aubry 3:46.10 to 3:46.46, both times inside the cut for the Olympic Games in Paris
Jaouadi, based at Thionville in France, had the edge the whole way as he drew Aubry inside the cut for a home Games. The podium was complete by Joris Bouchaut, Dauphins Toulouse, in 3:49.21, the third Frenchman home Canet’s Paul Beaugrand in 3:50.16.
Marie Wattell, of CN Marseille, dominated the women’s 100m butterfly in 57.49, inside the cut for a home Olympics in Paris from July 27. Wattell holds the national record at 56.14, a time she clocked at 2022 World titles in Budapest.
The podium was completed by Lilou Ressencourt, of Olympic Nice, in 58.81, and Dauphins D’Annecy’s Maty Ndoye-Brouard, sister of French backstroke ace Yohann, in 1:00.20.
Photo Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto courtesy of European Aquatics
Anastasia Kirpichnikova, of Montpellier, took the 400m freestyle in 4:06.87, inside the ‘A’ standard for the Paris Games. She raced for Russia at the 2019 World Championships and the 202one Olympic Games before Russia launched its illegal war Eoin Ukraine. Kirpichnikova’s French nationality was granted last year, after she had long been based in France.
The 400m podium was rounded off by Anna Egorova, Clichy, in 4:08.77, and Lucile Tessariol, Merignac, in 4:10.38.
The Chartres championship pool will soon be graced by the Australia Olympic team, which will finish its preparations for the Paris Olympics after a staging camp in Canet that gets underway this week after trials ended with 44 Dolphins selected in Brisbane on Saturday.
There were no swims insure the Paris cut in the 100m breaststrokes finals. Antoine Marc, of Mullhouse, was the men’s champion in 1:00.97, Marchand a possible for the breaststroke leg of the French 4x100m medley, while Charlotte Bonnet, of Olympic Nice, topped the women’s final in 1:07.48.