2019 French Elite Nationals: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2019 French Elite National Championships– 50M

• Tuesday 16th to Sunday 21st April 2019
• Prelims from 9.30am; final C from 18:00; final A / B from 18h30
• Host: Brittany Regional Swimming League
• Bréquigny swimming pool, 12 boulevard Albert 1er, RENNES
• 50m
• French qualifying rules for 2019 World Championships
• Start list: available here
• Results: available here

Day 3: Thursday 18 April 2019

Women’s 1500 Freestyle

• FINA “A” cut: 16:32.04
• Time to achieve in prelims to qualify for Worlds: 16:22.63
• French record: 16:03.01 – Laure Manaudou (CN Melun Val de Seine) – 14/05/2006 – Tours

PODIUM:

1. Lara Grangeon, CN Calédoniens – 16:18.63
2. Aurélie Muller, CN Sarreguemines – 16:32.90
3. Adeline Furst, Dauphins Obernai – 16:41.07

Defending champion Lara Grangeon led from start to finish and dominated the women’s 1500 free final in Rennes. She was out in 1:01 and then split seven 1:05-lows in a row before settling into a 1:05-high/1:06-low pattern for the next six 100s. She came home in 1:04 to clock a 16:18.63 which, had she achieved it in prelims, would have qualified her to swim the event for France in Gwangju. As it was, Grangeon went 16:42.57 to put up the fastest qualifying time in prelims on Wednesday. Grangeon was seeded with 16:23.27.

Second to the wall was Aurélie Muller in 16:32.90. She had been third in prelims with 16:43.24, having come into the meet seeded third with 16:36.95. Adeline Furst earned the bronze medal swimming out in lane 8. After swimming 17:10.65 in prelims, Furst went 16:41.07 to touch third.

Men’s 50 Breaststroke

• FINA “A” cut: 27.39
• Time to achieve in prelims to qualify for Worlds: 27.08
• French record: 27.36 – Giacomo Perez Dortona (CN Marseille) – 22/04/2009 – Montpellier

PODIUM:

1. Théo Bussière, CN Marseille – 27.62
2. Clément Mignon, CN Marseille – 28.05
3. Thibaut Capitaine, Cergy Pontoise Natation – 28.28

Marseille’s Théo Bussière, on the mend from shoulder surgery last fall, successfully defended his 2018 title in the 50 breast and was even faster. Last year he won in 27.80. This time around he went 27.62 to pick up his second win of the week. Bussière claimed the national title in the 100 breast on Tuesday (1:00.31). Marseille sprinter Clément Mignon went 28.05 to touch second, coming to the wall just ahead of last year’s bronze medal-winner Thibaut Capitaine (28.28).

Women’s 50 Breaststroke

• FINA “A” cut: 31.22
• Time to achieve in prelims to qualify for Worlds: 30.74
• French record: 30.96 – Sophie de Ronchi (ES Massy Natation) – 22/04/2009 – Montpellier

PODIUM:

1. Fanny Deberghes, ASPTT Montpellier – 31.54
2. Solène Gallego, Canet 66 Natation – 31.84
3. Justine Delmas, CNO St.-Germain-en-Laye – 32.38

Fanny Deberghes and Solène Gallego repeated their 1-2 finish from a year ago but there was a newcomer on the third step of the podium, 14-year-old Justine Delmas of St.-Germain-en-Laye. This marks the second time the age-grouper has stood on the podium this week; she won bronze in the 100 breast on Wednesday, breaking both the 14 and 15 girls’ national age group records with 1:10.47.

Deberghes won the event in 31.54, or .12 faster than her gold-medal performance of 2018. With 31.84, Gallego was also faster than she’d been last year (32.13). Deberghes won the 100 breast on Wednesday, as well. Gallego was disqualified in the final.

Men’s 50 Backstroke

• FINA “A” cut: 25.17
• Time to achieve in prelims to qualify for Worlds: 24.89
• French record: 24.07 – Camille Lacourt (CN Marseille) – 12/08/2010 – Budapest (HUN)

PODIUM:

1. Jérémy Stravius, Amiens Métropole – 24.92
2. Stanislaus Huille, SN Versailles – 25.33
3. Paul-Gabriel Bedel, CN Marseille – 25.35

After having satisfied the first half of the French selection criteria for World Championships by swimming a 24.65 in morning heats, Jérémy Stravius formally punched his ticket to Gwangju by winning the event in finals with 24.92 (the time didn’t matter; he only needed to finish among the top 2). Stravius is the defending champion in this event; his winning time in 2018 was 25.01. Stanislaus Huille touched second in 25.33, just .02 ahead of 2018 bronze medalist Paul-Gabriel Bedel from Marseille.

Stravius’ morning swim ranks him #3 in the world so far this season.

Women’s 200 Freestyle

• FINA “A” cut: 1:58.66
• Time to achieve in prelims to qualify for Worlds: 1:58.03
• French record: 1:54.66 – Camille Muffat (Olympic Nice Natation) – 06/06/2012 – Canet-en-Roussillon

PODIUM:

1. Charlotte Bonnet, Olympic Nice Natation – 1:56.57
2. Margaux Fabre, Canet 66 Natation – 1:58.86
3. Joana Desbordes, SFO Courbevoie – 1:59.43

Nice’s Charlotte Bonnet, who had already qualified to represent France in this event at World Championships by virtue of having medaled in the 200 free at 2018 European Championships, defended her national title in her signature event with 1:56.57. That ranks her 6th in the world for the season underway.

Margaux Fabre, who missed the cut-off by half a second in prelims with 1:58.54, was runner-up in 1:58.86. Third place went to Joana Desbordes of Courbevoie in 1:59.43, a huge improvement for the 18-year-old whose best time coming into the meet was 2:01.72. Desbordes went 1:59.99 in heat to break the 2:00 barrier for the first time. Assia Touati placed fourth in 1:59.97

Because there is bound to be a great deal of discussion around the women’s 4×200 free relay, it’s worth reviewing the French rules for relay qualification. As stated in the FFN’s documentation and explained here, the women needed add-up times of 7:56.24 in prelims, using the results of the 2nd through 5th finishers out of morning heats. As shown in the table below, the top 5 times out of the morning, ascribed to -in order- Bonnet, Fabre, Desbordes, Touati, and Alizée Morel, did not make the cut. #2-#5 (as specifically stated in the rules) added up to 8:00.38. Even if you took the top 4 times, from Bonnet’s 1:57.54 to Touati’s 2:00.90, you’d only get 7:56.97. Technically, the fact that the top four times in finals added up to 7:54.83 should be irrelevant. But the final decision rests with the National Technical Director, and it wouldn’t be the first time that France threw out the rules to accommodate more swimmers.

[Note: the original text reads as follows. 2.2 Relais 4 x 100 & 4 x 200 nage libre dames , 4 x 100 nage libre messieurs : seront proposés à la sélection les cinq premiers nageurs à l’issue des séries lors des Championnats de France Elite, à condition que le temps de qualification (à l’addition des temps individuels) du tableau ci-dessous, soit réalisé par les nageurs classés de la seconde à la cinquième place.]

Men’s 200 Butterfly

• FINA “A” cut: 1:56.71
• Time to achieve in prelims to qualify for Worlds: 1:56.43
• French record: 1:54.62 – Franck Esposito (CN Antibes) – 04/2002 – Chalon-sur-Saône

PODIUM:

1. Jeremy Desplanches (SUI), Olympic Nice Natation – 1:57.58
2. Léon Marchand, Dauphins Toulouse – 1:58.60
3. Matthias Marsau, Dauphins Toulouse – 1:59.20

The final of the men’s 200 fly ended the session with a big exclamation mark. Olympic Nice’s Jeremy Desplanches broke the Swiss National Record with his winning time of 1:57.58. That is his second NR of the meet; he lowered his own 400 IM Swiss record on Tuesday. CN Antibes’ Arthur Cachot took it out first, turning in 26.15 at the 50 and 55.87 at the 100. Desplanches was right behind, at 55.91 for the 100. Only a couple of tenths off the leaders was 17-year-old Léon Marchand of Toulouse, whose 1:59.98 in prelims broke the National Age Group Record. Desplanches took over the lead with his third 50. At the 150 wall, it was Desplanches, followed by Marchand 8/10 back, and then Cachot and Matthias Marsau, also from Toulouse, who had pulled even with Cachot.

Desplanches came home in 31.0 to Marchand’s 31.3 and Marsau’s 31.5. Marchand lowered his new NAG to 1:58.60, coming to the wall 6/10 ahead of Marsau. Cachot faded to fourth and barely held off Logan Fontaine of Vikings de Rouen, 2:01.60 to 2:02.08.

Desplanches earned the gold medal but Marchand was crowned French National Champion at 17.

Qualified individually for Gwangju: