Jérémy Stravius Racks Up 2 More National Titles on Day 2 of French SC Nats

2017 French Short Course Nationals – Montpellier

• November 30, 2017 to December 3, 2017
• Piscine olympique d’Antigone, Montpellier
• 25m
• Press kit
• Psych sheet

While Day 2 produced no French national records, there was plenty of fast swimming in Montpellier. Jérémy Stravius added two more national titles to his list, bringing the total to four over the first two days of competition.

Men’s 800 Free – Fastest Heat

• French Record: 7:29.17 Yannick Agnel, 16/11/2012 Angers
• Championship Record: 7:29.17 Yannick Agnel, 16/11/2012 Angers

Podium:

1. David AUBRY (MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION) 7:38.83
2. Damien JOLY (MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – ANTIBES) 7:41.48
3. Marc-Antoine OLIVIER (DENAIN NAT. PORTE DU HAINAUT) 7:48.16

Nicolas D’Oriano of Marseille had set the bar in the morning heats with 7:51.54, a drop of 9 seconds from his seed time. It was almost fast enough to earn him a spot on the podium. In the evening heat, Damien Joly took it out first, but David Aubry was just on his heels. The pair turned together for the first half of the race, with Aubry moving to the front at the 400. Aubry continued to pull away from Joly over the second half, and wound up with the win in 7:38.83, a PB by 9.6 seconds. Joly held onto the second spot with 7:41.48, also a best time. Third place went to open water specialist Marc-Antoine Olivier in 7:48.16, his best by nearly 2 seconds. D’Oriano was fifth.

Clément Kukla of Sarcelles broke the NAG record for 15-year-old boys with 8:07.24, an improvement of 31.9 seconds.

Women’s 50 Fly – A Final

• French Record: 25.15 Mélanie Henique, 18/11/2016 Angers
• Championship Record: 25.20 Mélanie Henique, 20/11/2015 Angers

Podium:

1. Mélanie HENIQUE (CN MARSEILLE / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 25.59
2. Marie WATTEL (MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION) 25.61
3. Charlotte BONNET (OLYMPIC NICE NATATION / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – NICE) 25.98

Top-seeded Mélanie Henique won a tight contest in the women’s sprint fly, edging Marie Wattel by .02 for the national title. While Henique was off her best time, Wattel improved her seed time by .56. Third place went to Charlotte Bonnet, who had scratched the 100 breast in order to concentrate on this race and the 200 free later in the evening. Third-seeded Cini Mathilde finished just off the podium with 26.24; she, too, had a PB, going .15 better than her seed time.

There were 2 national age group records in finals. Margot Cachot of Antibes placed 6th in the A final with 27.25, a NAG for 15-year-olds, and Coralie Savart of St-Malo Natation won the C final with 27.90, a NAG for 13-year-olds.

Men’s 200 Fly – A Final

• French Record: 1:50.73 Franck Esposito, 8/12/2002 Antibes
• Championship Record: 1:51.33 Jérémy Stravius, 21/11/2015 Angers

Podium:

1. Nans ROCH (CN ANTIBES / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – ANTIBES) 1:53.71
2. Jordan COELHO (STADE DE VANVES / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – ANTIBES) 1:55.44
3. Thibaut MARY (AMIENS METROPOLE NAT. / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – AMIENS) 1:57.89

The men’s 200 fly was close through the 100, with Nans Roch holding a slight lead over top-seeded Jordan Coelho, 54.6 to 55.1. The second half of the race was all Roch, though, as he outpaced Coelho by 1.3 seconds and won 1:53.71 to 1:55.44. Thibaut Mary was just a tick behind the leaders at the halfway mark with 55.7, but he couldn’t hold on over the second half and finished third by quite a margin.

Women’s 400 IM – A Final

• French Record: 4:27.31 Lara Grangeon, 2/12/2015 Netanya
• Championship Record: 4:31.66 Camille Muffat, 8/12/2007 Nîmes

Podium:

1. Fantine LESAFFRE (MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 4:32.34
2. Lara GRANGEON (CN CALÉDONIENS / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – NICE) 4:33.90
3. Cyrielle DUHAMEL (STADE BÉTHUNE PÉLICAN CLUB) 4:41.09

Defending champion Fantine Lesaffre dropped 2.7 seconds en route to winning the 400 IM title over top seed and French record-holder Lara Grangeon. Grangeon was out first, turning at 1:02.24 at the fly-to-back wall, while Lesaffre made the turn at 1:02.90. Lesaffre outsplit Grangeon by 3.8 seconds in backstroke and pulled ahead by 3 body lengths at the halfway point. Grangeon was 1.3 seconds faster in the breast and a tick faster in the free, but it was not enough to catch Lesaffre, who won 4:32.34 to 4:33.90. Theirs was the only real race in the pool, as Cyrielle Duhamel came in a half pool-length behind in 4:41.09. It was a best time by 1.2 seconds for Duhamel.

Men’s 100 Back – A Final

• French Record: 49.57 Jérémy Stravius, 7/12/2013 Dijon
• Championship Record: 49.57 Jérémy Stravius, 7/12/2013 Dijon

Podium

1. Jérémy STRAVIUS (AMIENS METROPOLE NAT. PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – AMIENS) 51.27
2. Jordan POTHAIN (NAUTIC CLUB ALP’38) 52.75
3. Paul-Gabriel BEDEL (CN MARSEILLE / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 52.98

Jérémy Stravius lived up to his top-seed billing and won his third national title of the meet with a 51.27 in the men’s 100 back. He was never challenged, and led by nearly a body length already at the 50 wall. The excitement took place in the race for second, with Jordan Pothain edging Paul-Gabriel Bedel by 13/100. The two traded stroke-for-stroke for four laps before Pothain stopped the clock at 52.75, his best time by over a half second.

Maxence Orange of Nantes, the 200 back champion, finished fourth in 53.28.

Women’s 100 Breast – A Final

• French Record: 1:05.43 Sophie de Ronchi Turban, 14/12/2008 Rijeka
• Championship Record: 1:05.56 Sophie de Ronchi Turban, 14/12/2008 Angers

Podium:

1. Fanny DEBERGHES (ASPTT MONTPELLIER) 1:06.29
2. Camille DAUBA (CN SARREGUEMINES) 1:07.96
3. Camille MALLET (AMIENS METROPOLE NAT. / PÔLE ESPOIRS NATATION COURSE – AMIENS) 1:08.16

Charlotte Bonnet, who scratched after going 1:06.30 in prelims, her best time by .33, left the field open for the final. Last year’s runner-up Fanny Deberghes stepped up and swam an outstanding final, smashing her personal best by over 1.3 seconds to win with 1:06.29. Deberghes was out first (31.19), and came home fastest as well (35.1).

Camille Dauba and Camille Mallet both had strong finishes (35-mid), but were not able to make up the gap Deberghes put in her wake over the first 50m; they finished second and third, respectively. It was Mallet’s best time by 1.8 seconds.

Defending champion Solène Gallego took fourth with 1:08.39.

Chloé Braun of Toulouse broke the NAG for 13-year-olds twice. In morning heats she turned in the 29th time overall with 1:13.33, a PB by 1.30 seconds. She then took another .17 off that time to finish 5th in the C final with 1:13.16.

Men’s 200 Breast – A Final

• French Record: 2:04.50 Hugues Duboscq, 10/11/2009 Stockholm
• Championship Record: 2:06.00 Hugues Duboscq, 6/12/2008 Angers

Podium:

1. Jean DENCAUSSE (CN MARSEILLE / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 2:06.34
2. Jeremy DESPLANCHES (OLYMPIC NICE NATATION / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – NICE) 2:06.84 and Thibaut CAPITAINE (CERGY PONTOISE NATATION) 2:07.84
3. Antoine VIQUERAT (DAUPHINS TOULOUSE OEC / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – CREPS TOULOUSE) 2:09.29

Defending champion and Queens University of Charlotte commit Jean Dencausse won his second consecutive title in the 200 breast with a PB of 2:06.34. Dencausse established the pace very early on, jumping out to a half body-length lead over the field by the 50. He was the only one under a minute at the 100 (59.85), then held on to come home in 1:06.49 to go a best time by 0.37.

Jeremy Desplanches lowered his own Swiss record by 1.75 to touch second with 2:06.84. The second French finisher was Thibaut Capitaine in 2:07.84, a 5-second drop from his seed time. The bronze medal went to Antoine Viquerat, who dropped 5.4 seconds.

Women’s 200 Free – A Final

• French Record: 1:51.65 Camille Muffat, 18/11/2012 Angers
• Championship Record: 1:51.65 Camille Muffat, 18/11/2012 Angers

Podium:

1. Charlotte BONNET (OLYMPIC NICE NATATION / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – NICE) 1:53.39
2. Cloé HACHE (CN MARSEILLE / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 1:55.17
3. Anna EGOROVA (MONTPELLIER METROPOLE NATATION) 1:57.03 and Alizée MOREL (DAUPHINS TOULOUSE OEC) 1:57.91

Bonnet, who had scratched the 100 breast final to concentrate on the 50 fly and 200 free, was unchallenged in the final of her specialty distance. Out in 55.0, she had a body length on runner-up Cloé Hache at the 100, and 2 body lengths on the rest of the field. Bonnet had a strong finish as well, and came to the wall in 1:53.39, just .22 off her best time.

Hache was second with 1:55.17, her best by 1.34 seconds. Anna Egorova of Russia touched third in 1:57.03, a PB by 3.2 seconds. The French bronze medalist was Alizée Morel with 1:57.91.

Men’s 50 Free – A Final

• French Record: 20.26 Florent Manaudou, 4/12/2014 Doha
• Championship Record: 20.51 Florent Manaudou, 23/11/2014 Montpellier

Podium:

1. Oussama SAHNOUNE, ALG (CN MARSEILLE / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 21.26 and Jérémy STRAVIUS (AMIENS METROPOLE NAT. / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – AMIENS) 21.50
2. Maxime GROUSSET (AMIENS METROPOLE NAT. / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – AMIENS) 21.68
3. Yonel GOVINDIN (CN MARSEILLE / PÔLE FRANCE NATATION COURSE – MARSEILLE) 21.77

Oussama Sahnoune of Algeria, who trains in Marseille, lowered his seed time by .37 in the final of the men’s 50 free. Stravius came in just behind at 21.50, a mere .13 off his entry time. Stravius picked up the title of French champion in the event, his fourth of the meet so far.

Maxime Grousset, runner-up at Junior Worlds in the long-course version of this event, claimed the silver medal with 21.68. His entry time was 22.25. Yonel Govindin won the bronze with 21.77. They were the only sub-22s in the field.

Julien Henx of Luxembourg, who had finished third in the prelims with 22.03, a PB by .72, was relegated to the B final because only one foreign swimmer is allowed in each final. Henx took another .12 off his time at night, winning the B final in 21.91. Both times were new Luxembourg national records for Henx, whose 22.16 set the mark in 2014 at Doha.

Théo Berry of Angers Natation / INSEP (Paris) had an exceptionally good day. Entered with 23.19, he went 22.94 in prelims to tie for 21st place. Because of the “one foreigner per final” rule, there was a swim-off for the last place in the B final. Berry went up against Remi Meresse of Dauphins Toulouse in the swim-off, winning 22.65 to 22.81. In the B final later in the evening, finished third with 22.69.