Marchand Takes Olympic 200 Double Dress Rehearsal In His Stride At Chartres Titles
Léon Marchand spoke of “feeling good, both physically and mentally and generally” on the eve of French Elite Championships in Chartres and showed it today with a 1:54.08 in the 200m butterfly followed by a 2:08.95 in the 200m breaststroke within the hour.
In a little over 50 minutes, the 22-year-old World 200 ‘fly, 200 and 400IM champion of 2023 added two more events to his Paris home-Olympics campaign in solid fashion shy of the final preparation and taper heading into the big in a little over five weeks from now.
The 400IM, in which he broke Michael Phelps’ 2008 World record for the global crown last year, was already in the bag. Today’s double, which mirrors what Marchand faces on the fifth day of action in a nine-day program in Paris, placed the 200m butterfly challenge first on the menu.
Flying colours. Of course, not the 1:52.53 in which he took the world crown and rose to third-fastest all-time behind Hungarian Olympic champion and world-record holder Kristof Milak and three times Olympic champion (2004, ’08, ’16) Phelps, but at 1:54.08 unrested, the best is clearly yet to come at just the right time.
Out in 25.68, Marchand reached half-way at 54.54 (28.86), put in a 29.31 to the last turn and a last length of 30.23 for a close 100 of 59.54.
To half-way he had company, age-peer Noyan Taylan on 55.10 but then the chaser felt the speed of the pacer ahead of him and a 1:01.07 second 100 left him on 1:56.17, which may land a second ticket to the nation’s premier sports event of the year when the final list is drawn. Bronze went to 18-year-old Sandro Henras-Marouf in 2:00.22.
Swim down, a monument to catch breath and refocus and Marchand – – developed to Olympic level by French coach Nicolas Castel, the sports director at Dauphins du TOEC in Toulouse – was back in the call room taking it all in his strode, just as Phelps did before him as coach Bob Bowman guided him through the most-medalled career in Olympic history, all sports.
Phelps did not swim in college but Bowman had the American college winter of constant racing for the Sun Devils in Arizona under duress, Fear the Fork, and all that to offer the Frenchman when he went West in search of next-level a couple of years back.
Taking multi-eventing in his stride, Marchand qualified for the final of the 200m breaststroke in 2:12.87, 0.02sec shy of Antoine Marc.
This is how it went in the final, Marchand the magnet for his Toulouse teammate Antoine Viquerat to take the second ticket to the Games:
29.32; 1:02.07 (32.75) 1:35.57 (33.50) 2:08.95 (33.58; 1:06.88) Marchand
29.56; 1:02.53 (32.97) 1:36.06 (33.53) 2:09.95 (33.89; 1:07.42) Viquerat
Marchand’s best is a scorching 2:06.59 French record, while the two men who followed him home, Viquerat and Marc, on 2:10.16, were a touch shy of their 2:09 lifetime bests. Mission accomplished for the top 2, frustration for the third man home. Such is the wrap at trials.
There were also qualifiers in other finals.
Amiens’ Emma Terebo, based at the Insep national centre, added the 200m backstroke title in 2:08.53 to her 100m win (as the first French woman ever to race inset 59).
At 0.08sec shy of her career high, Terebo kept Canet’s Pauline Mahieu at bay throughout but a 2:09.28 for silver, which may make it another pair of Paris tickets for the hosts. Lou-Anne Guiton took bronze in 2:12.15.
Ahmed Jaouadi, 19 this year, stopped the clock first in the men’s 800m freestyle in 7:45.31 but counts for Tunisia, the land of Ahmed Hafnaoui and a troubled tale.
The first two Frenchmen home have tickets to a home Games. Pacome Bricout, 18, and racing for Stade de Vanves, got his hand to the wall in 7:48.63, ahead of 1500m winner David Aubry, the Montpellier Metropole man who, on 7:49.44 today, now heads for a distance double at the Olympic pool next month.
Locked out were Damien Joly, also Stade de Vanves, in 7:50.10, and Open water ace and marathon man Logan Fontaine, in 7:52.36.
There were two women’s dash finals in Chartres, both titles to CN Marseille, ‘fly to
Mélanie Henique in 25.60, breaststroke to Gaspard in 30.71.