2024 French Olympic Trials: Day 4 Finals – Live Recap

By Mark Wild on SwimSwam

2024 FRENCH ELITE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, June 16 – Friday, June 21
• Chartres, France
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet
• Entry List
• Results
• Live Stream
• Prelims: Day 1 |Day 2 |Day 3 |Day 4
• Finals: Day 1 |Day 2 |Day 3

A triple gold medalist from the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships, Leon Marchand, will make not one but two appearances in the pool today. Marchand will be looking to add to his 400 IM as he takes on the 200 fly and the 200 breaststroke. He is the top seed in the fly after swimming a smooth and controlled 1:57.90.

He’ll have to drop a few seconds to get under the OQT of 1:55.78, but he should be able to do so without expending too much energy. Toward the end of the session, he will also appear in the 200 breaststroke, where he is just .02 behind Antoine Viquerat, and both will be chasing 2:09.68

Melanie Henique leads the 50 fly, and is seeking to prepare herself for a strong 50 free later on, after missing out on the final of the 100 free.

After leading two other women under the former national record, Emma Terebo returns to the pool in the women’s 200 back.. Terebo already surpassed the qualifying time this morning but will be looking to repeat the feat this evening.

Damien Joly is the top seed in the 800 with his entry time of 7:47.44 but will face stiff competition from Pacome Bricout, who was born 13 years after Joly.

Women’s 50 Fly – Finals

• World Record: 24.43 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2023) 
• World Junior Record: 25.46 – Rikako Ikee, JPN (2017)
• French Record: 25.17 – Melanie Henique (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 25.17 – Melanie Henique
• Olympic Qualifying Time: N/A

Top 3

1.  Melanie Henique (CN Marseille) – 25.60
2.  Maty Ndoye- Brouard (Dauphins D’Annecy) – 26.51
3.  Albane Cachot (Dauphins Toulouse OEC) – 26.55

One of the greatest 50 flyers in the world, the three-time Worlds medalist Melanie Henique, made the final look easy. By the halfway mark, she had opened up a half a body-length lead on her nearest competition.  Henique looked strong into the finish and easily won, touching the wall in 25.60, nearly a full second ahead of Maty Ndyoe-Brouard.

Henique is a 50s specialist and must wait until the 50 free for a shot to swim for France at her home Olympics.

Men’s 200 Fly – Finals

• World Record: 1:50.34 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2022) 
• World Junior Record: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017) 
• French Record: 1:52.43 – Leon Marchand (2023)
• 2021 Winning Time: 1:55.40 – Leon Marchand
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 1:55.78

Top 3

1. Leon Marchand (Dauphins Toulouse OEC) – 1:54.08 ***OLY QUALIFIER***
2. Noyan Taylan (Clamart Natation 92) – 1:56.17
3. Sandro Henras-Marouf (Asptt Toulouse) – 2:00.22

The results were never in question. It was just a question of how fast it would be, as Marchand had to face the tasks of swimming two 200s fly and 200s breast on the same day. Marchand was out in 54.54 and came home in 29.31 and 30.23 to hit the wall in 1:54.08. While slower than his national record, the swim appears to be his third-fastest ever after his 1:53.43 in Fukuoka and his 1:53.37 from the 2022 Budapest Worlds and is a new course record. His swim jumps him into 4th amongst the World Rankings.

Noyan Taylan dropped over two seconds from his prelims swim but fell .39 short of the qualifying time.

Women’s 200 Back- Finals

• World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023) 
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 – Regan Smith, USA (2019) 
• French Record: 2:06.64 – Laura Manaudou (2:06.64)
• 2021 Winning Time: 2:12.84 – Fantine Lesaffre
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 2:10.39

Top 3

1. Emma Terebo (Amiens Metropole Nat.) – 2:08.53 ***OLY QUALIFIER***
2. Pauline Mahieu (Canet 66 Natation) – 2:09.28 ***OLY QUALIFIER***
3. Lou-Anne Guiton (Stade Bethune Pelican Club) – 2:12.15

The winner of the 100 back and the newly crowned national record holder, Emma Terebo, took the race out face, flipping in 1:01.49, leading the former 100 back record holder Pauline Mahieu by .47. The pair pulled themselves away from the field and dueled each other up and down the last 100 of the race, with Mahieu gaining a few tenths on the 3rd 50, but Terebo, but on a burst of speed to take the win in 2:08.53, improving upon her prelims swim by nearly two seconds.

Pauline Mahieu was visibly emotional after the race and during her interview as she hit the wall in second place in 2:09.28, but more importantly, under the qualifying standard of 2:10.39 and will join Terebo in Paris as a French Olympian.

Men’s 800 Free- Finals

• World Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, CHN (2009)
• World Junior Record: 7:43.37 – Lorenzo Galossi ITA (2022)
• French Record: 7:42.08 – David Aubry (2019)
• 2021 Winning Time: 7:54.31 – Logan Fontaine
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 7:51.65

Top 3

1. Ahmed Jaoudi (SC Thionville) – 7:45.31
2. Pacome Bricout (Stade de Vanves)- 7:48.63 ***OLY QUALIFIER***
3. David Aubry (Montpellier) – 7:49.44 ***OLY QUALIFIER***

Visiting swimmer Tunisian Ahmed Jaoudi struck a hard pace at the beginning of the race and started to distance himself from the field. At the 400 mark, he flipped in 3:50.74, 2.48 seconds ahead of the nearest French competitor Damien Joly. At the 600 mark, the lead had grown to over three seconds, but there was a distinct lack of French chasers as Joly, Pacome Bricout, and David Aubry were within half a body length of one another.

Bricout, the youngest of the three, took over the lead from his neighbors and started to close the gap on Jaoudi, but it was too little too late as the Tunisian recorded a new course record time of 7:45.31. Bricout finished 3.32 behind in 7:48.63, nearly a second clear of David Aubry’s 7:49.44. Both Bricout and Aubry were under the OQT and put themselves into position to be nominated for Paris

Jaoudi’s swim jumps him into 9th in the world.

Women’s 50 Breast – Finals

• World Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meiluyte, LTU (2023) 
• World Junior Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato (2021)
• French Record: 30.82 – Charlotte Bonnet (2023)
• 2021 Winning Time: 31.80 – Fanny Deberghes
• Olympic Qualifying Time: N/A

Top 3

1. Florine Gaspard (CN Marseille) – 30.71
2. Cyrielle Duhamel (Stade Bethune Pelican Club) – 31.75
3. Chloe Braun (Dauphins Toulouse OEC) – 31.89

Florine Gaspard, who hails from just north of France, in Belgium, but trains in the south of France with CN Marseille, won the non-Olympic 50 breaststroke. On the first night of the trials, Gaspard placed second in the 100 breaststroke, behind France’s national record holder Charlotte Bonnet.

Cyrielle Duhamel out-touched Chloe Braun by .14 of a second to be the highest placed french swimmer.

Men’s 200 Breast – Finals

• World Record: 2:05.48 Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023) 
• World Junior Record: 2:08.04 – Dong Zhihao, CHN (2023)
• French Record: 2:06.99 – Leon Marchand (2023)
• 2021 Winning Time: 2:10.21 – Antoine Viquerat
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 2:09.68

Top 3

1. Leon Marchand (Dauphins Toulouse) – 2:08.95 ***OLY QUALIFIER***
2. Antoine Viquerat (Dauphines Toulouse) – 2:09.95
3. Anotine Marc (Mulhouse ON) – 2:10.16

Less than an hour after winning the 200 butterfly, Marchand returned to the pool for the 200 breaststroke. He did not lead at the first turn as Lucien Vergnes was out in a swift 29.25, compared to Marchand’s 29.32. However, Marchand quickly took over and never looked back.

It wasn’t a particularly fast time, as Marchand stopped the clock in 2:08.95, which is nearly two seconds off his personal best, but like in the 200 fly appears to be amongst his five fastest performances. On the back end of a tough double, Marchand’s only goal was to make the Olympic qualifying time.

It was a close race behind Marchand as both Antoine Viquerat and Antoine Marc were within a second of the leader at the last turn, but both faded as Marchand turned on the jets. Viquerat got the better of Marc, finishing in 2:09.95, .27 off the OQT.

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