Two months after a European Championships that landed him three medals (gold in men’s 400 free relay, silver in men’s 400 medley relay, and bronze in mixed 400 free relay), French national team member Grégory Mallet is headed to Charlotte to train with Team Elite at SwimMAC Carolina for six months.
The 30-year-old native of Talence, near Bordeaux, is one of the pillars of French swimming. He has been training under Romain Barnier (who is also head coach of France’s national team) at Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille since 2007, and has been a member of the national team since 2006. But now Mallet is looking to expand his horizons, spend some time abroad, “kind of like what Camille Lacourt did in Australia last season,” he explained in an interview with Sud Ouest.
In fact it was Barnier who suggested SwimMAC. “He suggested Charlotte because the club is run by David Marsh, who was Romain’s coach when he was at Auburn,” said Mallet. He also mentioned he is looking forward to training with Ryan Lochte and Cullen Jones, both of whom will be ideal training partners for the 100 and 200 free specialist.
Mallet has his eye on one last goal before hanging up his suit: the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. He is putting everything he’s got into this final effort and the stint with SwimMAC plays an important role in his plan.
In nine years with Les Bleus Mallet has earned two Olympic medals (2008, 2012), four World Championship medals (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) and four European Championship medals (2006 et 2014). All but one of them have been for relays. “My only individual medal I won at the 2012 European Short Course Championships in Chartres. I’m not frustrated at all. I find that a medal that is shared with four, it’s savored all that much more. Thanks to my partners, we have lived some extraordinary moments. We are bound together for life.”
Photo: Brieuc75
A collector of American classic cars, Mallet may use his time in the United States to shop around for a new addition to his collection: a 1965 Mustang and a 1968 Corvette.
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