2021 FRENCH ELITE WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, December 9th – Sunday, December 12th
- Montpellier, France
- LCM (50m)
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The 2021 French Elite Winter Championships got underway today from Montpellier with swimmers vying for spots on the 2022 FINA World Championships and 2022 European Championships rosters. Although the primary qualification meet is represented by April’s French Elite Championships, the results from this competition will also be taken into consideration for Fukuoka and Rome.
Beating the French Swimming Federation’s Fukuoka time standard of 28.22, Analia Pigree took the women’s 50m back gold tonight. Stopping the clock in 27.41, 20-year-old Pigree topped the podium by over a second.
On the men’s side, Antoine Herlem got the job done in the 200m backstroke. He touched in a mark of 1:58.01, sliding under the Fukuoka QT of 1:58.07 by just .06. Two other men were also in the 1:58-range in the form of runner-up Geoffroy Mathieu and Mewen Tomac who touched in time of 1:58.46 and 1:58.79, respectively.
After having missed the International Swimming League (ISL) semi-final and final due to personal reasons, former Texas A&M Aggie Beryl Gastaldello of the LA Current was today’s top 100m freestyler.
Gastaldello took the victory in a time of 54.58 while Lison Nowaczyk hit 54.95 for silver and Margaux Fabre rounded out the top 3 in 55.64. Of note, the French national record holder in this event with a PB of 52.74, Charlotte Bonnet, placed 7th in 56.39.
Gastaldello’s personal best in this long course 100 free rests at the 53.40 she registered at this same meet one year ago. The QT for Fukuoka is 54.25.