TOPS
The new exploits of Léon Marchand
Superlatives are seriously lacking to describe what the 24-year-old from Toulouse achieves in pools around the world. Even more so if he begins to shine in new events, further extending an already immense scope of action. What he achieved in the 400m freestyle, winning gold masterfully, will remain one of the great moments of these European Championships. Setting off like a speedboat, the quadruple Olympic champion aroused a whole range of emotions during the 3 minutes and 43 seconds of his race: the excitement of seeing him alone in the lead, the worry of seeing him weaken and being caught, and finally the absolute admiration of seeing him hold on until the end, at the cost of an effort leaving the spectator even more breathless than the main person concerned. Sublime.
The advent of Mary-Ambre Moluh
His smile will have charmed the entire audience, and his performances even more. At 20, she was announced as the new star of French women's swimming. Mary-Ambre Moluh responded to expectations in the most beautiful way by winning the first international title of her career in the 100m backstroke, and she added style by setting a new European record for the distance (57''94), three days later... hers during her golden relay of the 4x100m mixed medley (57''99). The young woman has talent, character and a sunny personality who should delight the French Federation for the decade to come.
The communicative good humor of Albane Cachot and Maxime Grousset
A real breeding ground, the mixed zone – where journalists come to bother the athletes with their more or less relevant questions – is not always the nicest place during a competition. But at these European Championships, the French team had no shortage of assets to make this place welcoming. With the young Albane Cachot at the head of the competition, whose good humor and permanent enthusiasm were a joy in each interview. At 19, the Toulouse native “loved” her competition, and she transmitted “good vibes” to everyone. Like Maxime Grousset, the Caledonian ray of sunshine, always available, always smiling.
The general level of performance
Of course, it was only a European Championship, which, by definition, means zero Americans, zero Australians or even zero Chinese, to name just these three major countries in world swimming. However, the level of this competition will have been particularly high, with access to certain finals requiring even faster times than during the World Championships in Singapore. And also with world records to boot. Great hope of Italian swimming, Sara Curtis (19 years old) long dominated junior competitions at world and European level, before exploding in Saint-Denis by twice improving the best reference in the 50m backstroke, previously held by the Australian Kaylee McKeown (26''86), to bring it to 26''56. And what about the moment of grace of the German Johannes Liebmann (also 19 years old), who literally shattered the 1,500m world record of the American Bobby Finke at the Paris Games by almost four seconds (14'26''79 against 14'30''67)! A stratospheric performance, which left the audience and all his competitors speechless.
The completely crazy atmosphere
“It was extraordinary. At number 1, I would put the crazy atmosphere. I think that might even be all I'll remember. The French public was really there. I didn't really know what to expect, I had some hopes but this was truly above and beyond anything I could have imagined. It’s true that after experiencing the Games, it was difficult to do better. But there, perhaps precisely because the stadium is smaller, it resonates even more. We have the impression that they are really right next to us. It’s really an energy that is crazy and throughout my races, I heard it. It was crazy.” It’s difficult to sum up the mood of the week better than Mary-Ambre Moluh did.
FLOPS
The difficulties of Yohann Ndoye-Brouard
Like Grousset and Marchand, he too experienced a preparation disrupted by a few physical glitches, including a small concussion. Nevertheless, the double bronze medalist at the World Championships in Singapore a year ago in the 100 and 200m backstroke was expected to be a candidate for gold in Saint-Denis. Alas, he was eliminated in the 200m backstroke heats, before finishing last in the 50m backstroke final and just off the podium in the 100m backstroke. A real disappointment, which he did not try to hide. “I was hoping for much better. I even wonder how I swam 51"9 a year ago, because I still trained well this year. So we'll have to analyze all that, understand why I'm one second away from my best time today."
The disaster-stricken breaststroke in France
We knew it before the start of the competition, and there was no miracle: breaststroke is not France's strong point. Even more so when Marchand has to give it up to preserve his right adductor. 14th time in the 100m semi-finals and 15th in the 50m, Carl Aitkaci failed to qualify for an individual final. On the relays (gold in the mixed 4x100 medley and bronze in the men's 4x100m medley), he held his position rather well, but the question: how far could the French relays go with a breaststroker belonging to the Top 10 in the world? Among the women, the desert is even more important, Chloé Braun only being there to cover the relays where she lost between three and four seconds on her competitors during the final of the women's 4x100m medley relay. But as Denis Auguin, the national technical director, recognized, it is already too late “to plug the holes between now and the Games in two years.”
Para-swimming management
Wanting to highlight para-swimming, in addition to being an excellent idea, is a necessity. Do we still have to do it well? Which was not the case during these European Championships where only a few races were scattered here and there, without us clearly understanding why, nor that they were highlighted. Especially since no French swimmer was present. No Ugo Didier, no Emeline Pierre to promote the discipline and... the European Championships, the real ones, which will take place from September 7 to 12 in Turkey. So yes, it had to be done, but not like that…
