When he entered the competition at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Maxime Grousset came out of the heats brilliantly, winning the French record for the 50m butterfly in the process. Léon Marchand did not miss his debut either, unlike the French relays.
Maxime Grousset could hardly have dreamed of a better introduction. On the night of Saturday to Sunday in the land of the rising sun, he achieved the best time in the 50m butterfly series at the World Swimming Championships (22”74). A great time synonymous with a new French record. He erases from the shelves the old brand co-owned by Florent Manaudou and Frédérick Bousquet (22”84).
“Cool, that was nice! I felt really good at the start. I saw that I was in front with Dylan (Carter, editor’s note). I thought to myself that it was good, that it was going to do it. Yes, it’s a new record, but I don’t intend to stop there. Afterwards, I think it’s still happening with this weather this evening. We’ll see, but it’s cool. I try to win. I will try to win in the semis, and when I get to the final I will try to win. That’s all “, spoke the vice European champion of the discipline.
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Record de France for Maxime GROUSSET 👉🏼 https://t.co/4oJTlAWiNF#TeamFrance #TeamFFN pic.twitter.com/YfXM35Vazt— FFN (@FFNatation) July 23, 2023
The other highly anticipated Habs from this first day in Fukuoka is Léon Marchand. In the 400m medley, the French swimming prodigy also responded with a time of 4’10”88. The 2nd chrono of the series of this Sunday morning. Defending champion, Léon Marchand was overtaken on the clock by his main rival, his runner-up last year in Budapest, the American Carson Foster (4’9”83). “It went rather well, I did a good first 200m and, for the rest, I think I can do better tonight. I managed a bit. So, I still had trouble at the end, because I’m not really in my swimming, but it was a good 400m. I want to win. I want to win a title at the world championships”, said the Toulousain without any ambiguity.
Manaudou and the relay remain at the quay
Marie Wattel for her part validated her presence in the semi-final of the 100m butterfly despite a modest 11th time in the heats (58”02). On the other hand, it went much less well for the tricolor relays (4x100m freestyle), eliminated and therefore not qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Florent Manaudou and his partners failed in 12th place while the girls ranked 10th. A noticeably similar disappointment drives Charlotte Bonnet and Fantine Lesaffre, both eliminated in the 200m medley. “I’m a little disappointed but I’m not going to blame myself on my fate. I’m already happy to qualify here. I will, for sure, do the medley relay on the last day”, entrusted the first named following his elimination.
